Sports Minister initiates inquiry into Shanaka’s US visa incident

Sports Minister Namal Rajapaksa

Dasun Shanaka

Sports Minister Namal Rajapaksa has initiated an inquiry into the incident that led to Sri Lanka T20I Captain Dasun Shanaka failing to make the tour to the West Indies.

Shanaka was unable to join the Sri Lankan cricket team due to a technical issue with his transit visa to the USA.

Due to the delay in the process of obtaining his visa on time, Shanaka was left behind when the team left for the West Indies on 23 February. His visa issue has still not been sorted out by Sri Lanka Cricket, who in the meantime has appointed Angelo Mathews to lead the side in the three-match T20I series beginning on 3 March in Antigua.

The Sports Minister said the matter at hand was not about the passport issue, but the victory or loss of the national team in the series.

He said the Sports Ministry Secretary has been tasked with investigating the matter and submitting a report on the incident, after which necessary action will be taken.