Not much damage done to my reputation – Kusal Perera

Sri Lanka wicketkeeper-batsman Kusal Perera has said support from family, the board, and fans kept him upbeat through his five-month suspension due to doping charges that have now been withdrawn by the ICC.

He had been preparing for the Test leg of the New Zealand tour when he was informed of having failed a doping Test. In addition to that tour, he also missed a bilateral T20 series in India, the Asia Cup and the World T20 due to the suspension.

“I think people believed me through the whole ordeal,” Perera said. “I said I hadn’t taken illegal then, and I still say it now. The board believed me, and the media believed me and left me alone. The fans also believed me, so I don’t think there has been much damage done to my reputation.”

His plight appeared bleak when his initial sample had tested positive for the performance-enhancing drug, 9-Norandrostenedione, but it grew bleaker when the B sample returned identical results, in January. Perera said that despite the findings, he was intent on maintaining his innocence.

“People told me after the B sample also was shown to have the substance, that it would be better to accept my fault and hope for a shorter ban. But I didn’t want to accept a wrong that I hadn’t actually committed. If there had been any wrongdoing, I would have accepted it. For four years I had played with no problem.”

Perera had also spent a …

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