Former Sri Lanka cricketer Sachithra Senanayake has been arrested in relation to alleged match-fixing in the 2020 Lanka Premier League (LPL).
Senanayake was arrested today (Wednesday Sept 6th) by Sri Lanka Police and is due to appear in court within the next 24 hours. The arrest follows an investigation into alleged match-fixing. The investigation revealed that Senanayake sought to involve players in an attempt to fix matches during the 2020 season.
According to the investigation’s findings, he attempted to contact several players. It’s believed that some players who were approached reported Senanayake’s actions to the league’s anti-corruption officers.
The arrest comes after a court imposed a travel ban on Senanayake in August once the investigation was officially launched.
Senanayake has been arrested and charged under the Prevention of Offences Relating to Sports Act 2019. According to the law:
“any person who solicits, entices, persuades, or instructs any person… to influence the result, progress, conduct … of any sport, commits the offence of corruption in sports.”
This is the first time that a person has been arrested and charged for breaching the Act. He will remain in custody until Sept 15 at the earliest.
Senanayake won the 2014 T20 World Cup with Sri Lanka.
Based in London, Natasha is a former sports journalist with experience working for some of the biggest athletes & brands in the world of sports and iGaming.