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Star cricketer arrested after cyclist killed in Sri Lankan capital

Kusal Mendis is believed to have fallen asleep at the wheel before crash in which 64-year-old victim died

Sri Lanka test cricketer Kusal Mendis has been arrested by police in the country’s capital Colombo after a cyclist was killed in a road traffic incident early this morning.

The 64-year-old victim was taken to hospital after the crash, which happened in the suburb of Panadura at around 5am, but died from his injuries.

Orissapost.com reports that Mendis, aged 25, had been on his way home from a wedding and was dropping friends off in his Range Rover Evoque, having undertaken the role of designated driver.

He is believed to have fallen asleep at the wheel, according to preliminary investigations.

An examination by a judicial medical officer, however, established that he had not been under the influence of alcohol at the time of the fatal crash.

A wicket keeper-batsman, Mendis made his test debut for Sri Lanka in 2005 and has scored seven centuries in 44 matches. He has also appeared for his country in 76 one-day internationals and 25 T20 matches.

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Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.

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