This article is more than 4 years old

This article is more than 4 years old

After their dismal tour of New Zealand, the last thing the Sri Lankan cricketers probably wanted to hear was that their performance will be investigated by their government.

But Sri Lanka’s sports minister Dayasiri Jayasekera has indicated he’s going to do just that amid allegations of players being involved in “scandalous behaviour” while on tour.

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“They have not only attended drinking parties until three and four in the morning, but there was a lot of tension and friction among members,” Jayasekera told AFP.

“When they return, I want to call the team and along with Thilanga [Sumathipala, new Sri Lankan cricket president] try to find out what happened.

“My main concern is the breakdown in discipline. When that is affected, the team naturally performs badly,” he said.

New Zealand won both Tests against Sri Lanka, claimed the five-match ODI series 3-1 and won both T20 matches.

Sri Lanka, the defending world T20 champions, lost their No1 ranking in the format, dropping to third behind the West Indies and Australia.

Jayasekera told Sri Lanka’s Daily Mirror the national cricket team faced serious problems.

“We have slid [down the rankings] in all formats, including T20, which we were on top for many years.

“So we need to ascertain what had really contributed to this downward trend and try to fix it before it gets worse.”