Sri Lanka opening batsman Tillakaratne Dilshan was once again in the news for the wrong reasons when it emerged he had misbehaved with a woman while breaking 10 pm curfew as captain of the side which,won the tri-series in Zimbabwe earlier this year. The incident,it is learnt,occurred on the night of June 5 after Sri Lanka had beaten India by six wickets. Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) had issued a stern warning to Dilshan and Dilhara Fernando,who was with his skipper when the incident occurred. It has now emerged that Dilshan was questioned by the local police after the incident. There was no charge sheet filed against Dilshan,so SLC officials didnt find it necessary to even conduct an informal inquiry into the incident. The Sri Lanka teams manager on the tour Anura Tennekoon in his report has highlighted the fact that Dilshan,in spite of being skipper,had broken the curfew. Confirming the news to The Indian Express SLC media manager Brian Thomas said,There has been no charge sheet filed against Dilshan nor did Zimbabwe Cricket inform us about any incident involving any of our players misbehaving with any woman. It can also be confirmed that no player brought any unknown woman to the team hotel. Zimbabwe Cricket head of media and communications Shingai Rhuhwaya said that they were aware about a incident that took place at the end of the tri-series. Reading a ZC statement from Harare Rhuhwaya said: Zimbabwe cricket has been advised of an alleged incident involving one of the Sri Lankan cricketers that occurred in the team hotel following their victory in the recently concluded tri-series in Zimbabwe. Upon further investigation by our security and legal affairs department,we have been informed by the local police that no charges were ever laid by any complainants and no details of the incident were ever specified. To the best of our knowledge,no player or team official was or has subsequently been charged with anything in relation to this incident. So in the absence of an allegation,let alone a charge,arrest or case,Zimbabwe Cricket cannot make further comments,but assures authorities of its full cooperation as always,should anything further emerge. Incidentally,the day also saw the names of Dilshan and Fernando feature in news reports for their alleged proximity to the bookies. The Daily Mail reported that Dilshan was under the scanner of the ICCs anti-corruption unit after being spotted with a bookie in a London nightclub during the World Twenty20 last year. But Lankan skipper Kumar Sangakkara sprung to Dilshans defence. He said that neither him or SLC had reported Dilshans name to the ICC. I have never reported any player to the ICCs anti-corruption unit and no one has raised any suspicions about teammates, Sangakkara said. This was backed by a statement from SLC. Sri Lanka Cricket refutes any allegations against TM Dilshan. We further reiterate that none of Dilshans team mates complained to Sangakkara about any specific incident. Furthermore,Sangakkara and the team management never reported any specific player or players to the ICC Anti-Corruption and security Unit (ACSU) or to the Sri Lanka Cricket Administration, the SLC statement said. Fernando,meanwhile,had informed Sangakkara when a suspicious character had approached him during the Pakistan tour in March,2009. The incident occurred a day before the Sri Lankan team bus was attacked by gunmen while on the way to the Gadaffi Stadium. Sangakkara in turn brought it to the notice of ICC. Fernando gave his statement to ICC officials when they arrived in Colombo to gather details about the attack.
