Former Sri Lankan batsman Sanath Jayasuriya was left stunned when the International Cricket Council (ICC) banned him for two years from all cricket related activities. On Tuesday, ICC found him guilty of obstructing anti-corruption probe and decided to exempt him from cricket. However, Jayasuriya feels this decision if ‘unfortunate’ and saying ICC has no evidence of “corruption, betting or misuse of inside information” against him.
ICC
Jayasuriya was questioned as part of the ICC’s investigation of wide-scale corruption in Sri Lankan cricket and charged under articles 2.4.6 and 2.4.7 of ICC’s code of conduct.
Article 2.4.6 deals with “failure or refusal, without compelling justification, to cooperate with any investigation carried out by the ACU.”
The Article 2.4.7 deals with “obstructing or delaying any investigation that may be carried out by the ACU, including concealing, tampering with or destroying any documentation or other information.”
Jayasuriya said, “It is unfortunate that even though I provided the ICC ACU with all the information as demanded by the officials the ICC ACU thought it fit to charge me under the Code although there were no allegations of corruption, betting or misuse of inside information.”
In his defense, Jayasuriya said that he has always played the game with the highest integrity. “I have always put country first and the cricket loving public are the best witnesses to this aspect. I profusely thank the public of Sri Lanka and my fans for having stood by me during this difficult period.”
Sanath Jayasuriya
When asked why he admitted to the charges of having destroyed the evidence as claimed by the ICC, he said: “I accepted the charges for the greater good and to protect the integrity of cricket.”
The left-arm batsman played 110 Test matches for Island nation apart from 445 One-Day International matches. Also, he featured in 31 T20 International matches. He also captained the Sri Lankan team during his career.
