A 31-year-old Sri Lankan cricketer, who was suspended from all forms of cricket due to an alleged anti-doping rule violation, has been cleared to play all formats of the game.

Last September, Niroshan Dickwella was officially suspended from all formats of the game for three years, effective from August 13, 2024, due to an alleged anti-doping rule violation during the Lanka Premier League 2024. In accordance with World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) guidelines, the Sri Lanka Anti-Doping Agency (SLADA) conducted the tests and had positive results. 

Dickwella accepted the A-sample test results and hadn’t made any official request for the B-sample testing. Before his three-year official suspension, the Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) suspended him from the game indefinitely last August.

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Niroshan Dickwella won the appeal

Dickwella later appealed the decision with evidence that the substance used wasn’t related to enhancing sports performance and wasn’t consumed during the tournament. Ultimately, the 31-year-old Lankan cricketer Dickwella won the battle as the SLC has lifted his ban from the game with immediate effect.

In the LPL 2024, Dickwella led the Galle Marvels, who finished as the runners-up. The left-handed batter scored 184 runs in 10 games (average 18.40 and strike rate 153.33), and he was the fourth leading run-scorer for his team in that competition. In that tournament, he scored one half-century. 

Niroshan Dickwella: International career

Dickwella last played for the Sri Lanka national cricket team in March 2023 when they played the Christchurch Test against the hosts New Zealand. His last ODI was the Colombo ODI against Australia in June 2022. Meanwhile, the 2021 Southampton T20I against the hosts England in June 2021 was his last T20I match. 

After making his international cricket debut in 2014, Dickwella has played 54 Tests, 55 ODIs, and 28 T20Is. In his international career, the left-handed batter has scored 2757 Test runs, 1604 ODI runs, and 480 T20I runs.