Sri Lanka Test captain Dimuth Karunaratne’s rare opportunity to play for Nottinghamshire in the English County Championships has been lost due to visa clearance issues and the health protocols that he has

Dimuth Karunaratne

to follow to enter the United Kingdom due to the current COVID-19 pandemic.

As Sri Lanka is a red-listed country in the UK, Karunaratne cannot fly directly to London but has to go via another country and can enter the UK only after completing 10 days’ quarantine. On top of it all, to get an express visa to the UK takes about 12 days which altogether will come to about 22 days.

As the county requires him for their remaining four Championship matches, commencing 30 August, Karunaratne has abandoned the idea of going to the UK as he will not be able to make it before the deadline.

“It’s a golden opportunity missed. I have been trying very hard to play county cricket for a long time and this was a good chance to do so as I have not had any proper cricket since the West Indies tour ended in March,” said a disappointed Karunaratne. (ST)

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