Guardians of fair-play and sportsmanship have turned into monsters at Sri Lanka Cricket as umpires stand accused of blatant cheating taking place at an establishment that the whole country and Parliament wanted ousted but to no avail.
The cheating and fixing by umpires have come in the form of examination papers for promotional tests spirited away and ending up in the hands of unscrupulous match officials who cannot pass a grading judgement.
What is worse to fathom is that the rot has been taking place over the years and the most vital component of the sport which is fair-play has been consigned to the flames.
One of the whistle blowers, an umpire named KK Chandana claimed in a visit to the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka that the practice of cheating has reached alarming levels and hundreds of umpires who should have passed the test have ended up in cold storage while shady failures have been passed as competent.
“Sri Lanka Cricket conducted an examination not to establish competent umpires but to promote their henchmen who secretly received the question paper in advance before the exam,” Chandana told the media after submitting a dossier to the Human Rights Commission on the corrupt practice.
Former employees and officials of Sri Lanka Cricket told the Sunday Observer that cheating and copycat activity by umpires ahead of exams was not something new as the syndrome had been taking place over the years and none able to blow the whistle until now.
“In the past there were five or six umpires who received the question paper before the exam, but this time as many as 25 umpires got hold of the question paper.
“Some umpires rose up in the ranks through cheating and favouritism.
“Umpires who got more marks like 70 were downgraded and those who got 20 were upgraded and declared passed,” said Chandana.
The Sunday Observer also learns that some umpires who cried foul of exam leaks were also responsible for conniving with school cricket coaches to play safe or kill results at school cricket matches.
An SLC official said they were in the process of probing cases of question papers being leaked out before umpire exams.
With domestic cricket in Sri Lanka now reaching professional level and many umpires aiming to receive higher grading, former umpires and coaches said the desire on the part of serving umpires to make the most of a shady system at Sri Lanka Cricket has reached alarming levels.
