The former Sri Lankan World Cup-winning captain (1996) and the present Sri Lankan Petroleum Minister Arjuna Ranatunga has claimed that India’s Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) could provide them with the technical expertise to fight against the corruption in cricket.
While the national cricket team is struggling hugely in the international cricket, the several fixing and other big corrupt allegations are putting the Sri Lankan cricket in deeper trouble.
After returning from New Delhi, Ranatunga said, “India has specialized knowledge on the issue having taken action against many corrupt activities in match-fixing. I made the request, and Prime Minister [Narendra] Modi immediately put me in touch with the CBI [Central Bureau of Investigation].
“We don’t have the expertise or the laws to deal with this problem in a proper manner. India promised to help us in drafting legislation too.”
Also read: ECB and CA deny the latest spot-fixing claims
Ranatunga was the skipper of Sri Lankan cricket team during the 1996 Cricket World Cup, which Sri Lanka won the crown for the first time and it is their only ICC World Cup victory till the date.
In 2000, CBI named Ranatunga and his deputy Aravinda de Silva in a match-fixing investigation. However, in later, they were cleared from the charges.
In this May, the Qatar-based news and current affairs satellite TV channel, Al Jazeera exposed few spot-fixing and match-fixing incidents in recent international cricket through a video. Apart from some international cricketers’ have been alleged to involve in this corruption, some Sri Lankan groundsmen have also been accused of fixing the pitch to ensure a result under four days of a Test match.
As a result, the Galle groundsman Tharanga Indika and the former Sri Lankan professional cricketer Tharindu Mendis have been suspended by Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) as the ICC investigation is still running.
Meanwhile, the former Sri Lankan T20I cricketer Jeevantha Kulatunga was also suspended by SLC after he was reportedly alleged in the same video for being involved in a match-fixing in a fake T20 series in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Recently in the last week, the legendary Sri Lankan all-rounder Sanath Jayasuriya has been charged for violating ICC’s anti-corruption code after not co-operating in the investigations. Jayasuriya was the Player of the Tournament in the 1996 Cricket World Cup.
