International Cricket Council is probing at least three Sri Lankan cricketers for match-fixing. Sri Lanka Cricket has said that none of them is from the current team.
Sri Lankan sports minister Dullas Alahapperuma has confirmed that the ICC authorities are investigating at least three cricketers from the island for involvement in match-fixing. “We are sorry to see that sports had fallen short of discipline and character,” he said.
Responding to the revelations mad by the Sports Minister, Sri Lanka Cricket in a statement has insisted no current players were involved in the ICC investigation.
“What the honourable minister actually mentioned was about an investigation launched by the ICC Anti-Corruption Unit against three former Sri Lanka players and not the current national players,” Sri Lanka Cricket said in a statement.
The ICC had reportedly declined to comment on the investigation.
Alahapperuma has reportedly stressed the need for development of school-level cricket. He said that school-level cricket forms the basis for national-level cricket, and developing it would lead to Sri Lanka’s rise in the international stage.
In order to do so, Alahapperuma said that the education and sports ministries, and the Sri Lanka Cricket Board (SLC) must come together. The cricket body along with the ministries need to formulate a long-term plan for the development of school-level cricket, he said.
He added that President Gotabaya Rajapaksa will chair a meeting with officials from the respective ministries, SLC and school cricket authorities next week to discuss these issues, citing the declining status and respect for cricket in Sri Lanka.