Legendary Sri Lankan opener and World Cup winner Sanath Jayasuriya has been charged by the International Cricket Council with two counts of breaching its anti-corruption code.
Jayasuriya has been charged because of a “failure or refusal to co-operate” with an ICC investigation into alleged match-fixing in Sri Lanka alongside “concealing, tampering with or destroying any documentation or other information that may be relevant.”
The investigation in question is believed to focus on the fourth ODI between Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe in Hambantota in 2017. Jayasuriya, who played 110 Tests in his career, was chairman of selectors for his country at the time.
The ICC released a statement on the charge which said: “Mr Jayasuriya, the former Sri Lanka Cricket Chair of Selectors, has been charged with the following offences under the Code:
“Article 2.4.6 – Failure or refusal, without compelling justification, to co-operate with any investigation carried out by the ACU, including failure to provide accurately and completely any information and/or documentation requested by the ACU as part of such investigation.
“Article 2.4.7 – Obstructing or delaying any investigation that may be carried out by the ACU, including concealing, tampering with or destroying any documentation or other information that may be relevant to that investigation and/or that may be evidence or may lead to the discovery of evidence of corrupt conduct under the Anti-Corruption Code.
“Mr Jayasuriya has 14 days from 15 October 2018 to respond to the charges.”
The news will come as a shock to the huge numbers of fans Jayasuriya has in Sri Lanka where he is seen as a national hero after his batting inspired them to an extraordinary World Cup triumph in 1996.
