Dulip Samaraweera faces more heat as a further 10-year ban gets imposed by Cricket Australia

The former Sri Lankan Test player turned coach Dulip Samaraweera finds himself embroiled in a soup as Cricket Australia has slapped yet another ban on him following his allegations of offensive behavior towards another player while coaching.  Samaraweera, who was previously handed a 20-year ban from the governing body due to his inappropriate conduct towards a female player faces another allegation this time around.

Unmasking the details of his second offense as a coach

The second offense that was supposedly committed by him was as a private coach while he was employed by Cricket Victoria. Although Samaraweera dismissed all the claims but refrained from partaking in the investigation. Hence, as a result, a decision was made by Cricket Australia to ban the Sri Lankan coach for another 10 years for violating the game's code of conduct.

The 10-year ban will be cumulatively added to his already-persisting 20-year ban which will effectively exclude Samaraweera from the domestic coaching circuit till 2044 when he will be 72. Australian Associated Press (AAP) acknowledges that neither complainant has chosen to take the matter further and pursue criminal charges at this time.

However, Samaraweera's news on player misconduct drew a strong response from Cricket Victoria chief executive Nick Cummins who deemed his actions "utterly reprehensible" and "a betrayal of everything we stand for". His comments came once Cricket Australia concluded the findings of its initial investigation in September. Cummins stressed that the safety and the psychological well-being of every member at Cricket Victoria is of primary importance. to him.

He further admitted that his administration is committed to helping the affected player in every possible manner and will go to all lengths to help the victim materialize her dreams both on and off the field. 

"From an organization perspective, the safety and well-being of everyone at Cricket Victoria is paramount. We will not tolerate any behavior which compromises that position, or our people, and will always support our culture of speaking up. The victim in this case has demonstrated incredible strength of character and courage in speaking up. She will continue to receive our ongoing support to allow her to achieve her goals on and off the field."

A look into Samaraweera's professional cricketing career

Samaraweera was born in the capital city of Colombo and represented Sri Lanka in seven Tests between 1993 and 1995 before transitioning into coaching. The seven-time Test representative, dedicated nearly 16 years to Cricket Victoria's women's program, serving as a longstanding assistant coach for the Melbourne Stars in the WBBL, prior to her resignation in May. The 42-year-old served as the assistant coach for the Starts from the inaugural WBBL season in 2015 and subsequently went on to serve as Victoria's interim head coach for most of last summer.

Samaraweera was poised to take up a full-time coaching role for Cricket Victoria but resigned in May as the current policies in place barred him from hiring his brother Thilan to the coaching staff.

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