Sri Lanka Cricket Board warns players of match-fixing approaches

The Super Provincial T20 series is going on in Sri Lanka, and the tournament has received more attention than what it was used to, when officials kicked out “suspicious individuals” during the Galle vs Kandy game at Dambulla on Saturday, August 25.

The Galle team, led by Dimuth Karunaratne, beat Dasun Shanaka’s Kandy by seven runs, in what was a closely-fought encounter. As the spectator count was generally low, a few people's antics from the stands gathered close attention from the part of the officials.

“They appeared to be from the Indian sub-continent. Their excessive use of mobile phones at the stadium aroused suspicion and they were ordered out,” an official of the Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) Board said, on asked about details regarding the issue.

Apart from this, the various players have also been warned to tell authorities of any attempt to approach them to fix matches, according to him. The move was made after the above-mentioned incident on August 25th.

Meanwhile, the Cricket board has also reacted to the situation. The board said in a statement that it has stepped up anti-corruption measures at SLC T20 games and team hotels. “Sri Lanka Cricket has also notified the team managers and the players taking part in the tournament to inform SLC immediately of any approach by suspicious individuals,” the statement said.

Sri Lanka Cricket has also announced plans for tougher laws against corruption in sports, and they also have plans to introduce a special police unit to deal with match-fixing and related issues.

It has been tough times for cricket in the country following an Al Jazeera TV documentary that sought to expose corruption in global cricket. Sri Lankan cricket and the attitude of its authorities were one of the prime targets of the documentary, as it released extensive proof regarding several ongoing scams pertaining to the board.

Allegations of pitch-doctoring followed, after which national players Dinesh Chandimal, Jeffrey Vandersay and Dhanushka Gunathilaka found themselves banned from international cricket on account of discipline issues, the former for ball-tampering and the latter two for breaching codes of conduct.

It is expected that the once-cricketing-superpower will rise back from its ashes as soon as possible, especially with the World Cup 2019 almost at our doorsteps, in less than a year.