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Cricket Australia (CA) has banned former Sri Lankan Test cricketer Dulip Samaraweera from the coaching circuit after he was found guilty of breaching the code of conduct. Samaraweera's behaviour was described as "utterly reprehensible" by Cricket Australia during his tenure as Victoria women's team coach.
As per cricket.com.au, Samarawera breached clause 2.23 of CA's Code of Conduct which was found to be in "contrary to the spirit of cricket, is unbecoming of a representative or official, is or could be harmful to the interests of cricket, or does or could bring the game of cricket into disrepute".
Cricket Victoria CEO Nick Cummins lauded the female victim for her courageous move to speak up against the former Sri Lankan player.
"We strongly support the decision taken by the Code of Conduct Commission today, banning Dulip Samaraweera for 20 years," said Cummins.
"It is our view that the conduct was utterly reprehensible and a betrayal of everything we stand for at Cricket Victoria.
"The victim in this case has demonstrated incredible strength of character and courage in speaking up. She will continue to receive our ongoing support to allow her to achieve her goals on and off the field.
"From an organisation perspective, the safety and wellbeing of everyone at Cricket Victoria is paramount. We will not tolerate any behaviour which compromises that position, or our people, and will always support our culture of speaking up."
Samaraweera’s coaching stint
Samaraweera who was appointed the interim head coach in November 2023 went on to take the position fuller-time a few months back. The 52-year-old who first took a coaching job in Australia in 2008 is yet to respond to his two-decade-long began. After the allegations, he realised in two weeks' time. In addition, he was assistant coach with Women's Big Bash League (WBBL) franchise Melbourne Stars.
ACA supports CA
The Australian Cricketers' Association backed CA's perdict and expressed their shock on the findings.
"These are extremely serious findings that may shock and upset many in the cricket community," said chief executive Todd Greenberg.
"The safety and wellbeing of our members remains paramount. The leaders in Australian Cricket now need to ensure that every possible measure is taken to ensure things like this never happen again. We have raised this imperative with Cricket Australia."
Samaraweera’s career in numbers
Samaraweera made his Test debut in 1993. He has played seven Test and five ODIs scoring 211 and 91 runs respectively.
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