LONDON: Sri Lanka are likely to be hit with an Inter­national Cricket Council (ICC) sanction after failing to fulfil their media duties following Saturday’s damaging World Cup defeat against Australia.

Dimuth Karunaratne’s side was beaten by 87 runs at The Oval, leaving their hopes of progressing to the semi-finals hanging by a slender thread.

Sri Lanka skipper Karunaratne and other players from his team were due to face the press after the match in a media conference and ‘mixed zone’.

But they refused to attend the press briefings and are liable to face action from tourna­ment organisers the ICC.

Asked if Sri Lanka would face any sanction, an ICC spokesman told reporters: “Yes. Sri Lanka have told us they don’t want to do it. The ICC will be speaking to them.” Sri Lanka’s refusal to meet the media comes just days after their team manager Ashantha de Mel slammed the ICC’s treatment of the squad.

De Mel blasted the quality of pitches, practice facilities, transport and accommodation at the World Cup.

“This is a World Cup where the top 10 countries are taking part and I feel that all the participants should be treated equally,” de Mel was quoted as saying by Sri Lankan newspaper Daily News.

De Mel also criticised Sri Lanka’s team bus, saying it was more cramped than the double-decker vehicles provided to other teams.

He blasted the net facilities at Cardiff as ‘unsatisfactory’ and the squad’s hotel in Bristol, which lacked a swimming pool.

Published in Dawn, June 17th, 2019