Sri Lankan police grill Upul Tharanga for two hours in 2011 WC final fixing probe

What started off as a rubbish claim has turned into a matter of serious investigation as on the back of former Sri Lankan sports minister Mahindananda Aluthgamage’s claims that the 2011 World Cup final between India and Sri Lanka was fixed, a Special Investigation Unit (SIU), on Wednesday, questioned opener Upul Tharanga regarding the issue.

Tharanga, who played in the World Cup final and scored 2 runs off the 20 balls he faced, is said to have been questioned for over two hours by the SIU and he is the second Sri Lankan cricketer to be investigated on the same, after Aravinda de Silva, the chief selector of Sri Lanka during the 2011 World Cup, was quizzed for nearly 6 hours on Tuesday.

"They asked a few questions in connection with the ongoing investigation. I gave my statement,"  TOI quoted Tharanga as saying. 

Jagath Fonseka, the SIU Chief, has revealed that the unit would decide on the next person to interview after analyzing Tharanga’s testimony. Foneska added that the SIU were obtaining intelligence reports as well as inputs from unspecified international sources in order to take the probe forward. Both Tharanga and de Silva, however, have refused to reveal any information about their probes. 

The investigation was launched on the basis of comments made by former Sri Lankan sports minister Mahindananda Aluthgamage, who alleged that the 2011 World Cup Final between India and Sri Lanka was fixed. "I feel I can talk about it now," Aluthgamage told a local TV network last month. "I am not connecting players, but some sections were involved."