The International Cricket Council on Monday charged former Sri Lanka captain and selector Sanath Jayasuriya for breaching the Anti-Corruption Code on two counts.
The 49-year-old has been given 14 days, starting on October 15 to respond to the charges levelled against him. Earlier in the week, the ICC announced that they were investigating “serious” charges of corruption in Sri Lanka.
“We are currently in Sri Lanka as part of our ongoing investigations into serious allegations of corruption in cricket in the country,” ICC anti-corruption unit general manager Alex Marshall said in a statement. “The enquiries are continuing so it would not be appropriate to comment further, but I can confirm that we have, at their request, provided a detailed briefing to the Sri Lankan President, Prime Minister and Sports Minister.”
Jayasuriya is yet to comment on ICC’s statement during its year-long investigation. The Guardian reported that the offenses include the refusal to hand over mobile phones and other electronic devices.
The two counts that Jayasuriya was charged by the ICC were:
Article 2.4.6: Failure or refusal, without compelling justification, to cooperate 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.
One of Sri Lanka’s greatest cricketers, Jayasuriya was the Player of the Tournament in the 1996 World Cup. After signing off from international cricket, Jayasuriya also tried his hand at politics, and in 2010, became an elected member of the Sri Lankan parliament, a stint which ended in 2015. He also served as a minister.
In 2013, he became the island nation’s cricket selection committee’s chairman. His tenure ended in 2015 after a string of failures by the Lankan team.
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