Sri Lanka T20 team co-owner to be held in prison over match-fixing

COLOMBO: A Sri Lankan court ordered Friday that the Indian co-owner of a Lanka Premier League (LPL) team, charged with attempting to bribe five players for match-fixing, be held in prison till the end of the month.

Manjot Kalra was arrested at a hotel in the capital, Colombo as he was allegedly “about to pay” a player 9.5 million rupees ($28,700), inspector Supun Vidanage of the Sports Investigation Unit said.

Four other Sri Lankan players were also approached by Kalra 10 days before his arrest Vidanage added.

An accomplice of Kalra will also remain in police custody until the end of the month pending further investigation.

Sri Lanka Cricket, the governing body of the sport on the island, said the domestic T20 tournament would go ahead as planned on Friday night in the capital.

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The opening match of the tournament, now in its sixth edition, is between the Jaffna and Galle teams. Kalra is a co-owner of the Jaffna team.

“Sri Lanka Cricket reiterates its unwavering commitment to protecting the integrity of the tournament and will not tolerate any form of corruption, misconduct or foul play by any stakeholder associated with the league,” Sri Lanka Cricket said in a statement.

Previous LPL tournaments have also been marred with allegations of corruption.

Bangladesh-born Tamim Rahman, owner of Dambulla Thunders, admitted in January to attempting to influence a player and organise match fixing.

Rahman was handed a four-year jail term and suspended for five years. He was also fined 24 million rupees.

The conviction was in line with a strict 2019 law aimed at preventing corruption in sport in Sri Lanka.