Former Sri Lanka spinner Sachithra Senanayake faces travel ban over match fixing

On Monday (August 14), aSri Lankan court imposed a travel ban on formercricketer Sachithra Senanayake. The former spinner, who retired in 2020, is the first player to be investigated for match-fixing under a new anti-corruption law. As a result of the ban, the 38-year-old spinner's passport was confiscatedafter state lawyers asked for more time to investigate a questionable incident involving him during the 2020 edition of the Lanka Premier League (LPL).

"The travel ban will be in place till October 16, when the case is due to be taken up before the Colombo magistrate," a court official told reporters in Colombo.

Senanayake's last international game was against Australia in a T20Iin September 2016 at home. Heis accused of dragging two LPL players into match-fixingin 2020. While heretired from all forms of the game in early that year,investigations into his conduct continued.

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Senanayake isthe first player to be prosecuted under a 2019 sports law that recognises match-fixing as a criminal offence. If aplayer is found guilty, he or she can be convictedfora maximum jail term of 10 years, a fine not surpassing 100 million rupees ($317,000), or both.

Senanayake has publicly maintained his innocence.

Several high-profile Sri Lanka cricketers have been under the scanner, investigated and even penalised by the International Cricket Council (ICC) over corruption, but the ex-spinner is the first to be criminally prosecuted.

LPL 2023 kicked off on July 30 and the tournament finale will be held on August 20, in Colombo.

It will soon be followed by the Asia Cup 2023 edition, to be jointly-hosted by Sri Lanka and Pakistan.

The Dasun Shanaka-led Islanders, who won the 2022 edition (held in T20I format), are gearing up for the continental event, which commences on August 30 in Pakistan.

Sri Lanka will host nine games, out of 13, in the multi-nation tournament. The national sideis yet toannounce the full squad for the competition.

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