Sri Lanka's wicketkeeper batsman Kusal Janith Perera has been banned from competitive cricket following the failure of the second doping test.

Perera was recently suspended after following a doping test. He was recalled from the current New Zealand series after failing a doping test for a sample taken on October 12.

Even though it was reported that the sample was taken during a recent series with Pakistan, the ICC later clarified that it was taken in October.

The second sample from Perera also tested positive for a banned substance.

The cricketer faces a ban of up to 4 years from competitive cricket. Sri Lankan authorities are considering an appeal to get the duration of the ban reduced.

Sri Lanka Interim Coach Jerome Jayaratne had backed Kusal Janith Perera when he had failed the first doping test. He said that Perera had "taken some medication for a bite on his foot". Neither coach nor player believed this medication to have been on the ICC's banned list of substances.