Last Updated on 2 years by Charbel Coorey
Cricket News: SLC calls ICC ACU head to investigate match-fixing allegations | Sri Lanka cricket match-ficing allegations
Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) has invited International Cricket Council’s (ICC) Anti-Corruption Unit (ACU) head Alex Marshall to probe into match-fixing allegations made by Sri Lankan Member of Parliament (MP) Nalin Bandara in the floor of the house earlier this month.
The accusations were related to the Sri Lanka vs Pakistan Test match at the Galle International Stadium in July this year. The Babar Azam-led side had chased down a mammoth target of 343 runs powered by a century by opener Abdullah Shafique (160*).

Bandara had made a sensational claim of everyone from the pitch curators to people higher up the hierarchy receiving payoffs to throw that match away. The MP did not offer any evidence to back his statements though.
SLC invites ICC to investigate match fixing claims
“In the last Pakistan series, our team scored 400-odd [Sri Lanka had set a target of 342, a ground record if achieved], and still lost in the last innings. From the person who rolls the pitch, everyone has been given money. The board has become a gambling den,” Bandara was quoted in a report by ESPNcricinfo.
Bandara had also put light on his ongoing tussle with SLC president Shammi Silva in the Parliament. His speech was mainly concerned around the board’s alleged mismanagement of its players. More importantly, his statements are protected under the parliamentary privileges and hence cannot be sued for either libel or defamation.
The SLC came out with an official release wherein they did not name Bandara but acknowledged that his comments had brought great disrepute to Sri Lankan cricket and its stakeholders.
Pakistan had pulled off a major coup in that test by batting 127.2 overs to get to their target of 342 runs. Shafique’s knock of 160 runs was ably supported by Azam’s 55 along with Mohammed Rizwan’s innings of 40 runs. Sri Lanka, however, managed to bounce back in the following Test by emerging victorious by 246 runs to level the series 1-1.