DUBAI: Sri Lankan opening batsman Upul Tharanga has been suspended for three months after failing a doping test, the International Cricket Council (ICC) said on Friday.

An ICC statement said the 26-year-old left-hander's batsman's urine sample, taken after this year's World Cup semi-final against New Zealand in Colombo on March 29, contained prednisone and prednisolone which are on the World Anti-Doping Agency's banned list.

Tharanga pleaded guilty to the offence at an early stage in the proceedings, it added.

A three-member independent tribunal, chaired by Tim Kerr, accepted that Tharanga had ingested the substances when drinking a herbal remedy for a long-standing shoulder injury.

“It also found that Tharanga had no intention to enhance his sporting performance or to mask the use of another performance enhancing substance, but that he had failed to satisfy the high levels of personal responsibility implicit upon him as an international cricketer subject to anti-doping rules,” the statement said.

The suspension starts on May 9 and expires on August 8.

“I apologise to the fans and followers of Sri Lanka cricket for inadvertently committing an offence,” the cricketer was quoted as saying in the statement.

“I hope my fellow sportsmen will learn from my experience and be more vigilant when taking medical treatment, so that their careers do not suffer in the way that mine has.”