Sri Lankan batsman Kusal Mendis was arrested on sunday for allegedly hitting a man on a bicycle while driving - PTI reported (news agency), citing a statement from Sri Lanka Police.
The 25 year old allegedly hit a 64 two-year-old man,killing him in the early hours of sunday,inthe suburb of Panadura in Colombo. The fatal road accident took place when the SUV of Mendis allegedly crashed into a bicycle after losing control at around 5 on Sunday morning.
The arrest of Mendis was confirmed the police officer, SSP Jaliya Senaratnethe. It is yet to be determined whether either of the two were intoxicated. The Police spokeperson further added that -"Further investigations into the accident are being conducted at the moment, the deceased is said to be a resident of Gorakapola area in Panadura".
Mendis arrest comes at the time when already Sri Lanka has been going through a turmoil in the controversy following allegations of match-fixing in the 2011 World cup final aganist India. It was reported that on earlier on Monday(6 July) morning the 25 year old Right-handed batsman was granted bail.
Additional Magistrate of Panadura granted Mendis the bail on two sureties,worth 1 million Sri Lankan rupees and further ordered compensation worth 1 million rupees to be paid to the victim's family. It is also reported that Mendis's driving license has been temporarily suspended by court and the next hearing is scheduled for September 9.
The wicket-keeper batsman has played 44 tests and 76 ODIs for Sri Lanka till date. He was also part of the national squad which began training after the pandemic lockdown. Mendis has scored 2,995 runs at an average of 36.97 in test cricket and 2,167 runs at an average of 30.52 in ODIs. He also represented Sri Lanka in 26 T20Is scoring 484 runs at an average of 18.92. Mendis was last seen in action in the home series aganist West indies where he scored a century and a half-century. Sri Lanka won the three match ODI series,3-0.
Sri Lanka's international assignments, including a tour by India, has been suspended due to the current pandemic.
Cover Credits: TheDawn
