Jayasuriya hit with corruption charges
Sri Lanka great accused of failing to help inquiry Investigation relates to ODI defeat to Zimbabwe
Sanath Jayasuriya, one of the game’s greatest one-day batsmen, has been charged with two counts of failing to cooperate with anti-corruption investigators, plunging Sri Lankan cricket into crisis.
It is understood the charges relate to Jayasuriya failing to hand over all his mobile phones and devices to International Cricket Council detectives and not cooperating in interviews during a 12-month investigation.
It is also believed that the charges relate to the fourth one-day international between Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe in Hambantota in July 2017, when Jayasuriya was chairman of selectors.
Zimbabwe won that game by four wickets under the Duckworthlewis method and claimed their first major series win since 2001 by beating Sri Lanka 3-2.
The action against Jayasuriya, announced yesterday by the ICC, is only part of a wide-ranging series of investigations into Sri Lanka cricket and other individuals are likely to face charges in the coming weeks.
Alex Marshall, the ICC’S head of anti-corruption, was in Sri Lanka last week to brief the England players and to meet the country’s president and prime minister to update them on his investigation.
The ICC is lobbying the Sri Lanka government to make match fixing and cricket corruption criminal offences. Last week, the ICC charged three Hong Kong players with corruption offences and it has been working on an in-depth investigation in Sri Lanka for more than a year.
Jayasuriya is one of the game’s greatest one-day batsmen and was a revered figure in Sri Lanka when he was a player. He was part of the 1996 World Cup-winning team and is the fourth-highest runscorer in ODI cricket. Since retiring in 2011, Jayasuriya has served twice as chairman of selectors. He stood down for the second time last year.
The announcement of the charges has come at a time when Sri Lankan cricket is reeling from the poor performances of the team and the recent sacking of one-day captain Angelo Mathews, who was axed after a poor Asia Cup campaign and publicly accused of not being fit enough.
Jayasuriya is also a well-known figure on the Twenty20 league circuit and is a former MP in Sri Lanka. He has 14 days to respond to the ICC charges.
He is facing one count of failing to hand over information or documentation and “obstructing or delaying any investigation that may be carried out by the ACU [Anticorruption Unit], including concealing, tampering with or destroying any documentation or other information that may be relevant to that investigation”.