Sri Lanka Cricket bring three players' year-long bans to early end

Kusal Mendis, Niroshan Dickwella and Danushka Gunathilaka received a heavy penalty after breaking the team's curfew and walking through the centre of Durham in June

Niroshan Dickwella, Kusal Mendis and and Danushka Gunathilaka are available for international selection once again after Sri Lanka Cricket ended their one-year suspensions early.

The trio were banned in July for breaching Covid-19 bio-security protocols during the senior men's tour of England and Wales.

Mendis, Dickwella and Gunathilaka received a heavy penalty after breaking the team's curfew and walking through the centre of Durham in June.

Their excursion was captured on camera by two members of the public, with the videos shared widely across social media.

^{The players were suspended after being caught on camera breaching bio-security protocols on the tour of England}

SLC charged the trio with bringing Sri Lankan cricket and the country of Sri Lanka into disrepute, and following an independent inquiry all three were told they would remain suspended from international cricket for 12 months.

However, they recently submitted a written request for reconsideration and, on Friday, SLC confirmed that the ban had been lifted following a committee meeting.

The three players can now be considered to be part of national squads again, providing they prove their fitness levels are up to standard.

The remainder of the ban is suspended for two years, with the governing body saying it will "closely monitor" the behaviour of the three men.