New Delhi: The cricket team of Pakistan was on a tour of Sri Lanka in July this year. They were playing a two match test series which ended in a draw. Now, it is being revealed that the match was fixed. An MP of opposition in Sri Lanka Nalin Bandara has made this claim in the parliament.
Pakistan Cricket Board cannot comment
The Sri Lankan Cricket Board said that it has invited the International Cricket Council (ICC) to investigate the allegations of match-fixing. Meanwhile, Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has reverted on the issue. A PCB official says the board cannot comment on Sri Lanka’s decision to invite officials from the world governing body to investigate the allegations.
Sri Lanka invites anti-corruption unit
Speaking to The News, a local cricket board official said that the PCB cannot comment on something that is being investigated by the Sri Lankan board. Nor it can be linked to players of the host country. The Sri Lankan Cricket Board has invited Alex Marshall, General Manager of the ICC’s Anti-Corruption Unit. They want him to investigate the allegations made by opposition leader Nalin Bandara.
Match was played at the peak of Lankan economic crisis
Former Sports Minister Harin Fernando has said that the ICC has considered Sri Lanka as one of the most corrupt countries in the world under its ambit. One of his predecessors, Mahindananda Aluthgamage, told parliament last year that match-fixing was rife in Sri Lanka. The series against Pakistan was played in Galle this year during the peak of Sri Lanka’s economic crisis.
