SLC SUSPEND GUNAWARDENE AFTER ICC CORRUPTION CHARGES
Nuwan Zoysa also charged for breach of ECB Code of Conduct
Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) suspended Avishka Gunawardene as Coach of the Emerging Team after he was charged with match-fixing by the International Cricket Council (ICC) yesterday. Gunawardene was slapped with two corruption charges by the ICC on behalf of the Emirates Cricket Board (ECB), and relate to the T10 League played in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in 2017.
Former National cricketer Nuwan Zoysa, already charged by the ICC for a separate instance of corruption, has been charged with four counts of breaching the ECB’S Code of Conduct for Tournament Participants.
The two charges against Gunawardene were for ‘directly or indirectly soliciting, inducing, enticing, instructing, persuading, encouraging or intentionally facilitating any participant to breach Code Article 2.1’ and ‘Failing to disclose to the ACU (without unnecessary delay) full details of any incident, fact, or matter that comes to the attention of a participant that may evidence Corrupt
Conduct under the Anti-corruption Code by another participant.’
Zoysa’s four counts were for ‘being party to an agreement to influence improperly the result, progress, conduct or other aspect(s) of a match’, ‘directly or indirectly soliciting, inducing, enticing, instructing, persuading, encouraging or intentionally facilitating any participant to breach Code Article 2.1, ‘failing to disclose to the ACU full details of any approaches or invitations received to engage in corrupt conduct under the Code,’ and ‘Failing or refusing, without compelling justification to cooperate with any investigation carried out by the ACU in relation to possible Corrupt Conduct under the Code’.
The charges follow a recent amnesty to participants who had previously failed to report any information concerning corrupt conduct in Sri Lankan cricket, an ICC statement announcing the charges against both former cricketers said.
It is understood that these charges were made based on the information of a 27-year-old left-handed batsman, who is a close relative of a former Sports Minister, shared during the amnesty period.
The player was a member of the touring party to the UAE that participated in the first edition of the T-10 – Gunawardene was the Head Coach and Zoysa the Fast Bowling Coach of that team – but is not a member of the World Cup Squad.
Both former players have 14 days, from May 9 2019, to respond to the charges, the ICC statement said.
The charges are the latest in a spate of match-fixing controversies to hit former world champions Sri Lanka in recent months.
Three months ago, the ICC banned Sri Lanka’s former Skipper and ex-chief Selector Sanath Jayasuriya from all forms of the game for two years for failing to cooperate with an anticorruption investigation.
Last month, ex-sri Lanka fast bowler Dilhara Lokuhettige was suspended over three match corruption accusations.
And last year, a match-fixing controversy blew up after a sting operation for a TV documentary.
-AGENCIES