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Third Sri Lankan cricketer hit with corruption charges in a month
A third Sri Lankan cricketer has been hit with corruption charges as the International Cricket Council continues its crackdown on fixing.
Dilhara Lokuhettige became the 10th person this year to be charged with corruption offences and the third Sri Lankan in a month, although it is understood the three cases are not directly linked.
Lokuhettige, who now lives in Australia, played a handful of Twenty20 and one-day matches for Sri Lanka between 2005 and 2013. He has been charged with three breaches of the anti-corruption code relating to an alleged attempt to recruit a current Sri Lanka international to fix in last year’s T10 tournament in the United Arab Emirates, which is a competition played over 10 overs per side and featured England players, including Alex Hales and Eoin Morgan.
Lokuhettige also appeared in the first Al Jazeera cricket-fixing documentary aired this year. He was filmed in the background of a conversation when another Sri Lankan allegedly offered to fix matches for an undercover reporter. It is understood the ICC was already investigating Lokuhettige and this charge has nothing to do with the documentary. Al Jazeera has still not handed over any unedited footage or evidence to the anti-corruption authorities, but this charge will bolster its claim to have broken a fixing ring.
Alex Marshall, the head of the ICC’s anti-corruption unit, was in Sri Lanka last week as he continued a wide-ranging investigation in the country. Former Test players Nuwan Zoysa and Sanath Jayasuriya have been charged. Zoysa is charged with attempting to recruit a current Sri Lanka player to fix matches later this year and Jayasuriya with failing to cooperate with an investigation.
Jayasuriya was at last week’s first Test against England in Galle and has denied any wrongdoing. It is thought the ICC is investigating a one-day international played against Zimbabwe last year, when Jayasuriya was chairman of selectors.
Zoysa is a coach at the Sri Lankan academy, giving him access to the current side. The ICC is also lobbying the Sri Lankan government to make match fixing a criminal offence. Marshall has met with the president and the recently sacked prime minister, as well as his replacement. The chaos within the government has led the president to call for an early election in January, so the ICC faces a long wait to see if lobbying has been successful.
Lokuhettige has only recently moved his family to Melbourne and is no longer involved in Sri Lankan cricket. It is understood he met with ICC detectives in Australia on Tuesday when he learnt of the charges issued on behalf of the Emirates Cricket Board, which hosted the T10 competition.
Marshall, a former chief constable of Hampshire Police, took over as the ICC’s head of anti-corruption in 2017. This year he has charged a record number of players and Telegraph Sport understands his team are following 30 live lines of inquiry around the world.
The investigation in Sri Lanka is not finished and further charges are expected over the next month.