No one should safeguard any of these proven wrongdoers

The former Sri Lanka Cricket ICC anti corruption unit head retd. SSP Lakshman de Silva writes: “I should say I am the most happiest person to hear this news of the ICC / AC unit taking a very drastic action on the perpetrators said to be involved in ‘match fixing’, in Sri Lanka”.

“I feel consoled as the former Head of Anti-Corruption Unit in Sri Lanka Cricket, for whatever the silent contribution I was able to provide in this matter, mainly through the ICC/ AC officials who were officiating International matches in Sri Lanka. They are highly trained and experienced professionals who are competent to ‘ sense’ any fraudulent activities schemed by any stake holder in the game, either in the pitch or out of it.”

They also possess a high standard of ‘information gathering’ in any part of the globe. Thus, no player or official can dodge them. This entire episode portraits a sheer lack of discipline and mismanagement of the team on the whole.The worst of it is that the players and officials have let down very badly the ‘Cricket loving’ fans of Sri Lanka, who take all the trouble to travel far distance and spend so much to witness a ‘true resulted’ match, when the team manipulate results for their own benefit.

As seen in the news, the country is secondary to most of them than the ‘dirty money’ they go for. It is not only the players who have let down the Sri Lankan ‘fans’, but even the so called un- qualified ‘ pitch curators’, who manipulate to finish matches in half the period, to the disappointment of the fans and their money’s worth.

I earnestly anticipate that the responsible ‘ authorities’, even the government on the whole, take a very stern action to curtail these situations, as now the Sri Lanka Cricket is now, sorry to say, in ‘ shambles’. Failing which, cricket in Sri Lanka will be ‘ lost’ in no time and probably the remaining game taken over by the International ‘ bookies’ , who may think Sri Lanka is a worthy ground for them to play.

No one should safeguard any of these proven wrongdoers and show no mercy, purely for the betterment of the game in its future and to revive the pride of the game and the genuine entertainment the fans had in the past. Over to the highest authorities.

Lakshman De Silva (Senior Superintendent of Police Rtd.)