Narendra Modi helped me contact CBI to combat match-fixing, reveals Arjuna Ranatunga

Narendra Modi helped me contact CBI to combat match-fixing, reveals Arjuna Ranatunga

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Former Sri Lankan captain, Arjuna Ranatunga, has thanked Indian PM Narendra Modi, who helped the former contact the CBI to combat match-fixing allegations. The CBI named Ranatunga and vice-captain Aravinda de Silva in a match-fixing investigation in 2000 but the pair were cleared of any wrongdoing.

Sri Lanka had promised to establish a special police unit to investigate match-fixing complaints after a documentary that was released in May alleged massive global corruption in cricket. It showed Galle groundsman Tharanga Indika and professional cricketer Tharindu Mendis with an alleged bookie and the trio were caught talking about fixing the pitch to ensure a result in under four days in the Test against England.

Ranatunga, who was also embroiled in match-fixing controversies during his playing days, revealed that Indian authorities can help tackle the problem from its roots in Sri Lanka and thanked PM Modi for his help in connecting him with CBI officials in relation to match-fixing allegations.

“I made the request, and Prime Minister Modi immediately put me in touch with the CBI. We don’t have the expertise or the laws to deal with this problem in a proper manner. India promised to help us in drafting legislation too,”  Ranatunga told AFP sources.

This came after a Sri Lankan cabinet minister claimed that Indian authorities offered to assist Sri Lanka with its inquiry into match-fixing in cricket and drafting laws to combat cheating in the sport. Sri Lanka’s Petroleum Minister Arjuna Ranatunga, who also skippered the national team to the World Cup title win in 1996, added that India’s Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) could provide technical expertise in investigating allegations of corruption in world cricket.

Meanwhile, another former Sri Lankan batsman, Sanath Jayasuriya, is under investigation by the International Cricket Council’s anti-corruption unit. Jayasuriya, who was also a member of the 1996 World Cup winning team, has been charged for not cooperating with a match-fixing probe and concealing information.

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