Sri Lanka Cricket have handed Bhanuka Rajapaksa a one-year ban from all forms of cricket, which is suspended for two years and slapped a fine of USD 5000 for a breach of the player contract. An inquiry found the top-order batter guilty of breaching the obligations of Sri Lanka's national player contract for 2019-20 while appearing in media interviews. However, Rajapaksa has been selected as a part of the 13-member squad, currently undergoing training in Colombo, under a bio-secure environment, with the focus on future tours. Rajapaksa became eligible after having cleared the fitness tests, one of the prerequisites for national selections. He is expected to join the bio-bubble tomorrow.
Rajapaksa has been publicly protesting his continued omission from Sri Lanka's major teams, most recently suggesting he should have been part of Sri Lanka's squad for the tour of England. This even prompted a response from head coach Mickey Arthur, who told the Island newspaper that although Rajapaksa had "superb hitting ability", he had been omitted because of substandard fielding, and poor fitness and weight management."Bhanuka failed the skinfold test and went home without doing the rest of the tests. This just shows me the attitude and the shortcuts he is looking to take," Arthur said. "We are building a culture of pushing the players to be the best they can be. We want our best players on the field. He would be in our T20 squad. However, at the moment, his skinfold numbers have gone up and he has got to work on it." Rajapaksa, has featured in seven T20I games for Sri Lanka, his last game was against India in Indore
