Sri Lanka batsman Upul Tharanga was banned from all cricket for three months after failing a drugs test at the World Cup in March, the International Cricket Council (ICC) announced Friday. The ICC, in a statement issued from its Dubai headquarters, said the opener had been guilty of committing an anti-doping rule violation under Article 2.1 of the ICC Anti-Doping Code and had been "suspended from all cricket and cricket-related activities for a period of three months".
Tharanga, 26, not selected for the ongoing tour of England because of the charge, pleaded guilty after claiming the banned substance he took was in a herbal remedy. An ICC panel accepted he had not taken the remedy with the aim of enhancing his performance but still banned him for three months, back-dated from May.