ENG vs SL: Sri Lanka cricketers Kusal Mendis, Gunathilaka, Dickwella suspended, sent home after bio-bubble breach in UK

Sri Lanka's Kusal Mendis, Danushka Gunathilaka and Niroshan Dickwella have been suspended and will be flown back home after breaching bio-bubble, Sri Lanka cricket announced on Monday. The three players were seen roaming around the marketplace in Durham.

"Vice-Captain Kusal Mendis, wicketkeeper-batsman Niroshan Dickwella, and Batsman Danushka Gunathilaka will be flown back to Sri Lanka, with immediate effect. This decision was taken following a preliminary inquiry conducted over a video posted on social media in which the said three players can be seen outside their designated hotel," said Sri Lank Cricket in an official press release.

"The decision to recall the players was taken by the Executive Committee of Sri Lanka Cricket, based on the 'Manager's Report' on the matter. The three players will be suspended, from all forms of cricket, until the completion of the inquiry," the release further read.

Images and videos of vice-captain Kusal Mendis and wicketkeeper-batsman Dickwella emerged earlier in the day on social media and went viral. The Sri Lankan players were allowed to go out in Cardiff but not in Durham as the city was out of bounds because of the high number of COVID-19.

At this stage, it is understood that the ongoing series between England and Sri Lanka is not in any jeopardy. England whitewashed Sri Lanka in the three-match Twenty20 International (T20I). Mendis, playing all three games, registered scores of 9, 39, and 6, while Dickwella scored 3 and 11 in the two games he featured.

Earlier, ICC Match referee Phil Whitticase, who officiated in all the three T20I games, tested positive for COVID-19. The England and Wales Cricket (ECB) Board later on confirmed that Whitticase was "well and asymptomatic" but will remain in isolation for 10 days. While all the players and support staff members from both sides were declared safe, as many as seven other members from the match officials and anti-corruption teams were sent into isolation for 10 days as they had come in close contact with Whitticase.

Five out of the seven officials were due to officiate in the first One-Day International (ODI) between England and Sri Lanka on June 29 but now the roster will change.