Cricket in Sri Lanka was rocked and brought to shame in yet another scandal this time in connection with the first T/10 tournament in which the owner of one team, Galle Marvels, was arrested and remanded on charges of match-fixing.
Prem Thakkar, an Indian national was arrested by police in Pallekele and remanded on Friday until Monday by the Colombo Magistrate’s Court following a complaint of match-fixing made by West Indies player Andre Fletcher who is one of several from overseas involved in the T/10 tournament.
Fletcher alleged in his complaint that Thakkar had suggested to him to commit an irregular act on the field of play in return for money which is akin to match-fixing or spot fixing that is outlawed by the International Cricket Council (ICC).
The incident puts the T/10 tournament, which commenced early this week, alongside the corruption-tainted Lanka Premier League (LPL).
The latest episode in alleged match-fixing in the island comes after the ICC appointed a legal heavyweight in Sri Lanka, Sumathi Dharmawardena, as its top corruption buster and head of the Anti Corruption Unit (ACU) in early November.
Dharmawardena was instrumental in playing a key role as Additional Attorney General in the formulation of a Law to tackle match fixing and corruption in sport which relates to illegal betting and the manipulation of results in cricket.
The Galle Marvels team is captained by Sri Lanka spin bowler Maheesh Theekshana and the other entities contesting the T/10 tournament are Hambantota Bangla Tigers led by Dasun Shanaka, Kandy Bolts captained by Thisara Perera and Jaffna Titans led by Namibia player David Wiese.
One of Sri Lanka’s promising Test spin bowlers Praveen Jayawickrema became the latest player to be banned by the ICC over match-fixing at the LPL which former Sports Minister Roshan Ranasinghe refused to sanction.
Four Investigative Reports, two compiled by retired Supreme Court judges, have called for an overhaul in the administration of cricket in the country after Parliament unanimously did the same in 2023.
A Dubai-based company named IPG bought the rights to conduct the T/10 tournament from Sri Lanka Cricket and also runs the LPL.
