One of the greatest batsman of modern era Sanath Jayasuriya is absolutely ‘free’ to resume his participation in the cricket following the end of his two years suspension, according to the International Cricket Council (ICC).
Jayasuriya was charged in October 2019, after failing to provide his mobile phones to the ACU. He was also accused of obstructing or delaying any investigation into corruption in the game.
His ban ended in the first week of November last year.
An official email by the Alex Marshall General Manager – Integrity Unit of the ICC regarding the same, which was sent to the Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) CEO Ashley De Silva on November 3, clearly stated that the Iconic batsman is free to resume participation in cricket.
The official email, which is under Cricket Age possession, reads:
“Dear Ashley
I can confirm that Sanath Jayasuriya has completed an anti corruption education session to the satisfaction of the General Manager, ICC Integrity Unit.
He has met the terms of his agreed sanction and therefore his period of ineligibility has concluded. He is therefore free to resume participation in cricket.
Regards
Alex Marshall.”
The Sri Lankan maestro remains one of the greatest batsmen of all-time, especially in One-Day Internationals. Jayasuriya, who was known for providing blistering starts, continued to rule the roost among big-hitters. His spell-binding knocks defined Sri Lanka cricket’s golden period.
In a career spanning nearly 22 years, Jayasuriya amassed 21,032 runs from 586 internationals at an average of 34.14. He is among the top five run-getters in ODI cricket having aggregated 13,430 runs at 32.36. Jayasuriya also owns 28 tons and 68 fifties in the format. Notably, he (445) is the third most capped ODI player after Sachin Tendulkar (463) and Mahela Jayawardene (448).
Jayasuriya played 110 Tests, 445 one-day internationals and 31 Twenty20s for Sri Lanka and was also a former captain during his illustrious career between 1989-2011.
In 1996, Jayasuriya broke the record of slamming the fastest fifty in ODI cricket. He reached the 50-run mark off mere 17 balls in the 1996 Singer Cup tri-series final against Pakistan. The southpaw smashed 8 fours and 5 sixes before finishing on 76 (28). However, his record was broken by South Africa’s AB de Villiers in 2015, after he registered a 16-ball fifty.
Over the years, SL have racked up some mammoth totals across formats. Their 952/6 against India is the still the highest team total in Test cricket. In ODIs, the Lankans compiled 443/9 against Netherlands, while they put up 260/6 in a T20I game against Kenya. Interestingly, Jayasuriya was the highest run-scorer in all three matches (340 vs IND, 157 vs NED, 88 vs KEN).
Besides his monstrous hitting, Jayasuriya also stood out as a handy spinner. He has snapped up 440 wickets from 586 internationals at 35.66, including best match figures of 9/74. Moreover, he is the only ODI player in 10,000-run club to have taken over 300 wickets.
