Sachithra Senanayake, aged 38, is facing allegations of attempting to manipulate matches in the 2020 Lanka Premier League. Sachithra Senanayake is facing match-fixing allegations, and was prohibited from international travel by a local court.
The 38-year-old Senanayake, who participated in one Test, 49 ODIs, and 24 T20 Internationals from 2012 to 2016, is accused of attempting to manipulate matches in the 2020 Lanka Premier League.
The court blocked Senanayake from departing the country for a span of three months after the Attorney General’s instructions to the Special Investigation Unit (SIU) of the Sports Ministry to initiate legal action against the ex-off-spinner. The Attorney General has determined that substantial evidence has been discovered under the Sports Offences Prevention Act No. 24 of 2019.
The decision to bring about criminal charges resulted from multiple dialogues involving Alex Marshall, the General Manager of the International Cricket Council’s Anti-Corruption Unit (ACU), officials from Sri Lankan cricket, and legal representatives from the Attorney General’s office.
It is said that Senanayake used phone calls to tempt two players into participating in match-fixing
He supposedly lured two players to fix matches via phone calls. The Colombo Chief Magistrate’s Court has instructed a three-month travel ban on Senanayake through the Controller General of Immigration and Emigration. The Attorney General’s Department acquired the court order, based on instructions from the Special Investigation Unit of the Sports Ministry, to file criminal charges against the ex-off-spinner.
The athlete has also conveyed a warning of pursuing legal recourse. Back in 2021, the sportsman had submitted a request for anticipatory bail to the Colombo Magistrate as a means of safeguarding against arrest, but this plea was rejected. Yet, the 38-year-old former cricket player, known for his 78 wickets across 73 white-ball matches for Sri Lanka, refuted all accusations, describing them as unfounded claims intended to tarnish both his reputation and that of his family.
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