Sri Lanka’s Niroshan Dickwella, who was banned for three years due to alleged anti-doping violations, has been cleared to play cricket across all formats, according to the ICC. The 31-year-old cricketer received a three-year suspension after testing positive for a prohibited substance during a random anti-doping test. The ban, imposed by the Sri Lanka Anti-Doping Agency (SLADA), took effect in August 2024. However, Dickwella appealed the ban and submitted evidence to demonstrate that no banned substances were consumed during the “competition period” and that the identified substance was unrelated to “enhancing sports performance.”
Following a successful appeal, Dickwella’s ban was lifted with immediate effect, allowing him to resume playing cricket across all formats.
The wicketkeeper-batter last played international cricket in March 2023, featuring in Sri Lanka’s first Test against New Zealand in Christchurch. He was dropped after the opening Test, having scored just 7 runs in the match.
Dickwella was included in the T20I squad in March 2024 for the series against Bangladesh but did not feature in any matches.
Sri Lanka, currently at 45.45% in the ICC World Test Championship standings, have two home Tests remaining against Australia. Even if they win both matches, their percentage will rise to just 53.85%, leaving them reliant on other results. South Africa and one of India or Australia could surpass this percentage. For both teams to finish below 53.85%, Australia would need to win their series against India 2-1 with two draws, while South Africa would have to lose both Tests against Pakistan.
