The International Cricket Council’s (ICC) Anti-Corruption Unit (ACU) has stepped up its involvement in the investigation into alleged match-fixing in the Lanka Premier League (LPL), with ICC Anti-Corruption Unit head Andrew Ephgrave and Independent Chair of the ICC Anti-Corruption Unit Sumathi Dharmawardhana, PC, holding high-level discussions with Sri Lanka’s Sports Minister Kumara Gamage and officials from the Sports Ministry’s Investigation Unit.
Ephgrave, who arrived in Sri Lanka at the invitation of the Sports Minister, met Gamage and the head of the Sports Investigation Unit, ASP Chanaka de Silva along with Dharmawardhana, to discuss ways in which the ICC’s Anti-Corruption Unit could assist ongoing investigations into corruption allegations surrounding the LPL.
The meeting comes in the wake of a major scandal that has overshadowed the sixth edition of the tournament. Just hours before the opening match of the LPL last week, Jaffna Kings co-owner Manjot Kalra and another Indian national were arrested over allegations of attempting to induce players to fix matches.
The suspects were reportedly taken into custody by Sri Lankan authorities while allegedly carrying Rs. 9.5 million in cash, believed to have been intended for use in corrupt approaches to players. The arrests sent shockwaves through the tournament and prompted immediate action from both local authorities.
Sources familiar with the discussions said the Sports Minister sought the ICC’s full cooperation in investigating the allegations and ensuring that every aspect of the case is thoroughly examined. The minister is understood to have requested technical expertise and intelligence support from the ICC ACU, which has extensive experience investigating corruption in international cricket.
The LPL has faced questions over its integrity since its inception in 2020, with repeated concerns being raised over betting syndicates, player approaches and the ownership structures of some franchises. While previous editions have been conducted under the watch of the ICC ACU and Sri Lanka Cricket’s anti-corruption mechanisms, the latest allegations have intensified scrutiny of the tournament.
