Reports: Sri Lanka Cricket to investigate Suresh Raina

Suresh Raina

According to Indian newspaper Hindustan Times, Indian cricketer Suresh Raina is being investigated by Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) because four years ago, he was seen with a woman who has been linked to a bookie. The Sri Lankan board is set to form a committee to investigate the matter.

The decision to look into the issue was supposedly taken during an SLC executive meeting over a month ago.

The panel, which will investigate Raina, includes Shammi Silva, Gamini Wickramasinghe and other office bearers of the cricket board. SLC President Jayantha Dharmadasa is said to be supportive of the decision to probe into the issue.

The report further added that the minutes of the meeting for December 18 mentioned: “Silva stated that match-fixing was a serious matter and if Lawrence Fernando (the then SLC security consultant) has not given a report to the board, then he should be contacted and inquired.”

Rajiv Shukla, who was the BCCI Vice-President in 2010, had then stated that the woman in question was Raina’s agent.

Just last week, the Supreme Court of India had formed a committee which will deem the punishment for Indian Premier League (IPL) teams Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals as their team officials were found to be involved in betting during the tournament. Raina is part of the Chennai franchise and is their highest run scorer in the IPL since the league’s inception in 2008.

The 28-year-old has 18 Test caps to his name, scoring 768 runs at an average of 26.48. He has had a way more productive career in limited overs cricket, with 5104 runs at 35.44 in 207 matches in ODIs.