Cricket-Sri Lanka send three players home from England tour

(Reuters) -Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) said on Monday they was sending their players Kushal Mendis, Niroshan Dickwella and Danushka Gunathilaka back home from the team's England tour for breaching bio-bubble protocols.

The decision was taken after a video posted on social media showed vice-captain Mendis, wicketkeeper Dickwella and batsman Gunathilaka outside their designated team hotel in Durham.

"The three players will be suspended from all forms of cricket, until the completion of the inquiry," the SLC said in a statement.

"The decision to recall the players was taken by the Executive Committee of Sri Lanka Cricket, based on the manager's report on the matter."

The team drew heavy criticism for their heavy 3-0 loss in the Twenty20 series against England on Saturday.

Team combination will be a major worry for captain Kusal Perera heading into the first of three one-day internationals against England in Chester-le-Street on Tuesday.

They were already without opener Avishka Fernando who has been ruled out of the one-dayers with a quadriceps injury sustained during the second T20 match in Cardiff.

(Reporting by Amlan Chakraborty in New Delhi; editing by Ed Osmond)