Sri Lanka Cricket denies NOC to Niroshan Dickwella to play in ongoing Caribbean Premier League

Basseterre: Niroshan Dickwella has been denied a No-Objection Certificate (NOC) by Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) to participate in the ongoing Caribbean Premier League (CPL). The board will also prevent all-rounder Thisara Perera from playing in the majority of the tournament. [caption id=“attachment_7321551” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Niroshan Dickwella will return to training with the national team. AFP[/caption] The board has taken the decision after 10 players including Perera and Dickwella refused to tour Pakistan later this month, citing security reasons. “It is our policy not to give NOCs when there is a national tour, and the players would have known that. So Dickwella has not been granted a NOC and will be expected to train with the national team in the next few weeks. We have also asked Thisara to return to the country on 15 September, so he can also join the team in training,” ESPNCricinfo quoted SLC CEO Ashley de Silva as saying. Thisara has so far played two matches for St Lucia Zouks in the CPL after initially being granted a NOC. However, his NOC was conditional upon availability for Sri Lanka tours. And now as he has refused to go on the Pakistan tour, he now has to return to Sri Lanka. Unlike Thisara, Dickwella has not been granted a NOC as he had been with Sri Lanka’s T20 team for the series against New Zealand last week. Dickwella and Thisara were among ten players who refused to tour Pakistan despite assurances from Sri Lankan security experts. The Sri Lanka players, however, have suggested they would prefer another team to take the lead in helping international cricket return to Pakistan. In 2009, there was an attack on the Islanders in Lahore and after this international tours to the country came to a halt. Suranga Lakmal of the current list of players of Sri Lanka had been caught up in that attack.