Investigations into match-fixing allegations against former Sri Lankan cricketer Sachithra Senanayake have uncovered the involvement of an individual from the Wattala area, it was reported.
Senanayake who was arrested after surrendering to the Special Investigation Unit of the Sports Ministry yesterday (Sep 06) was remanded until September 15 by the Colombo Chief Magistrate.
The Magistrate also directed the prison superintendent to take the suspect to the Government Analyst for the examination of an audio tape related to the match-fixing allegation.
Senanayake is accused of trying to fix matches during the Lanka Premier League (LPL) in 2020. It is alleged that he had approached two cricketers in the first edition of the LPL in 2020 via telephone from Dubai to fix matches.
According to Daily News, Sachithra Senanayake had informed the court that a person from Wattala had given a bottle of Whiskey to Tharindu Ratnayake, a cricketer who was approached in the match-fixing attempt.
He further informed the court that the said individual would be brought to the investigation unit within seven days. However, Sachinthra Senanayake was remanded after taking into consideration his ability to influence other witnesses.
Deputy Solicitor General Dileepa Peiris told the court that the investigations have revealed that the suspect had motivated Tharindu Ratnayake and Dhammika Prasad to fix a match.
These players had been called via WhatsApp through international bookies and instructed to compete in a way that does not affect the competition and to act in a biased manner, saying that they would also pay in dollars for doing that.
Sachithra Senanayake had pressured the players to delete the relevant messages after these players did not comply and said that if they acted according to the instructions of the bookies, they would be paid 40,000 to 60,000 dollars, he further said.
Stating that the suspect uses three mobile phones, the Deputy Solicitor General said the mobile phone most required for the investigation was not handed over to the investigators and a statement had been given that it had fallen into a river and was misplaced.
According to Deputy Solicitor General Dileepa Peiris who represented the Attorney General, this is the first case under the Prevention of Sports Offences Act 2019.
Investigations had been launched into match-fixing allegations after Dhammika Prasad had in December 2022, complained to the International Cricket Council and requested Court orders to record the WhatsApp call with Sachithra Senanayake and send the recording to the Government Analyst. (NewsWire)
