Betting scandal: Sri Lankan player under spotlight

[Karan114]

Pakistan betting scandal: Sri Lankan player under spotlight David Hopps • Team-mates voice suspicions to possible bookmaker link • Paul Collingwood urges players to fight corruption in the game • Pakistan trio face 23 ICC charges, newspaper claims The International Cricket Council's anti-corruption unit has been monitoring the activities of a leading Sri Lanka player since the World Twenty20 in England last year after team-mates became increasingly unsettled by his late-night fraternising with a man they believed to be an illegal bookmaker. They passed on their concerns to the captain, Kumar Sangakkara, who followed ICC protocol by contacting the anti-corruption unit. The player has since been investigated by Sri Lankan police, although no charges have been laid; officials from the ICC's anti-corruption unit are said to be dismayed at the lack of progress. Haroon Lorgat, the ICC's chief executive, has admitted to a general sense of frustration, saying: "The [anti-corruption unit's] working is not that of a policing agency or a newspaper. They have no power to arrest or seize, or carry out a sting operation." Getting international players to question the honesty of one of their own team‑mates is a considerable challenge, but it is essential if the ICC is to root out corruption. England's one-day captain, Paul Collingwood, admitted ahead of tomorrow's Twenty20 international in Cardiff the difficulty faced by players in casting aside dressing‑room loyalties by reporting a team‑mate suspected of involvement with a betting scam. As England and Pakistan prepared for the start of the one-day series, in a lingering atmosphere of despondency and mistrust, Collingwood said: "I love this game fondly. It's very hard to say whether you would blag on someone or whatever but I would like to think I would take every decision in the best interests of the game of cricket." No England player, as far as Collingwood is aware, has ever felt the need to phone the ICC's anti-corruption hotline. "In my experience, I would probably say never, but I don't know for certain. You don't know whether players have done it individually and not told anybody else. This is probably stuff that will be done confidentially and kept kind of under the carpet." England also seem to have stopped short of reporting suspicions about opponents. They are regularly implored, as are players from all countries, to pass on all suspicions and leave the anti-corruption unit to investigate, but pointing the finger of suspicion without evidence is not easily done. "From a players' point of view, we pretty much just want to focus on the game in hand and let the authorities deal with it and make strong decisions," Collingwood said. "It may be up to the players to tell the authorities if they think something is going on." Pakistan's new captain, Shahid Afridi, who took over from the suspended Salman Butt, made a remarkable public apology before his side's net session in Cardifftoday on behalf of the three players – Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir – whose alleged involvement in betting scams is being investigated by the Metropolitan police and who have already been charged under the ICC's code of conduct. Afridi made no attempt to proclaim their innocence. "I think it is very bad news," he said. "On behalf of these players – I know they are not in this series – but on behalf of these boys, I want to say sorry to all cricket lovers and all the cricketing nations." The News of the World, which published its exposé into cricket corruption a week ago after a sting operation against the Pakistan players' agent, Mazhar Majeed, provides further evidence over 19 pages tomorrow to support its allegations. The newspaper has been praised by the head of the anti-corruption unit, Ronnie Flanagan. The newspaper claims that the Pakistan players face 23 ICC charges between them and that the Metropolitan Police have recovered between £10-15,000 of bills marked by News of the World from Butt's room. It also states Butt was warned five times that he must report any irregular dealings. It also derides as "rantings" the suggestion by the Pakistan high commissioner in London, Wajid Shamsul Hasan, that the evidence had been faked. Yasir Hameed, who was recalled for the final Test at The Oval – the Test that was the subject of the News of the World sting – is quoted as saying: "They were doing it [fixing] in almost every match. God knows what they were up to." http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2010/sep/05/sri-lanka-player-icc-spotlight

[cowboysfan]

this keeps getting worse by the hour.

[kabira]

Srilankan Player? Any guesses? Its not Sanga for sure

[EnterTheVoid]

I reckon Dilshan.

[kabira]

Most likely Dilshan as no one else will make sense. Jayasuriya Nope Jayawardane Nope Murli Nope Sanga Nope They did not have any other match winner besides 5 ppl. So most likely Dilshan

[Karan114]

Most likely Dilshan as no one else will make sense. Jayasuriya Nope Jayawardane Nope Murli Nope Sanga Nope They did not have any other match winner besides 5 ppl. So most likely Dilshan

True. Also, during the Randiv-Sehwag controversy there was a report in the Lankan press of a senior Lankan player being involved in a serious incident in Zimbabwe but the Sri Lankan board swept it under the carpet, and Dilshan was the only senior player on that tour as the others had been rested

[msplash9]

True. Also' date=' during the Randiv-Sehwag controversy there was a report in the Lankan press of a senior Lankan player being involved in a serious incident in Zimbabwe but the Sri Lankan board swept it under the carpet, and Dilshan was the only senior player on that tour as the others had been rested[/quote'] http://thenewsmaster.blogspot.com/2010/08/tm-dilshan-banned-on-entering-zimbabwe.html Not sure that its true or not..but read it some where else also

[jf1gp_1]

SL board which slapped one match ban on randiv for a silly no ball doubt wouldnt tolerate such a player; for that matter even Sanga would not select him so i dont think it Dilshan. maybe mahroof.

[CSK Fan]

It is dilshan. He was warned for his night time wanderings and his captaincy in Zim was under scanner

[Karan114]

http://thenewsmaster.blogspot.com/2010/08/tm-dilshan-banned-on-entering-zimbabwe.html Not sure that its true or not..but read it some where else also

That's some serious **** if true

[achilles]

http://thenewsmaster.blogspot.com/2010/08/tm-dilshan-banned-on-entering-zimbabwe.html Not sure that its true or not..but read it some where else also

I do remember reading that a senior SL player was in custody for 24hrs. and people thought it was Dilly. This is shocking and although, it has nothing to do with fixing matches, it does help us study the behaviour of a senior player who also reportedly beat up and chased a Kolkatan journo during the past IPL.

[Karan114]

I do remember reading that a senior SL player was in custody for 24hrs. and people thought it was Dilly. This is shocking and although' date=' it has nothing to do with fixing matches,[b'] it does help us study the behaviour of a senior player who also reportedly beat up and chased a Kolkatan journo during the past IPL.

Yeah I also remembered that. As you say, these are unrelated incidents but they serve to build a picture of the sort of character Dilshan is. As Kabira says, the other senior Lankan players don't fit the bill anyways.

[achilles]

Yeah I also remembered that. As you say' date=' these are unrelated incidents but they serve to build a picture of the sort of character Dilshan is. As Kabira says, the other senior Lankan players don't fit the bill anyways.[/quote'] Exactly. Among all the players, Mahela doesn't seem to be the betting kinds, Malinga isn't even playing much due to injuries, Murali was busy picking wickets in heaps and Sangakkara can't be the crook as the report states- "They passed on their concerns to the captain, Kumar Sangakkara, who followed ICC protocol by contacting the anti-corruption unit." The target bracket here is "seniors". So it might be Dilly. EDIT - It can be Mahela. He quit captaincy after One poor series. And his performances are suddenly good and bad too. So it might be him. Who knows?

[riwi999]

The official machinery (ACSU) seems to be impotent to do anything. All they end up doing is conveying their concern to individual Boards. Just not good enough!!! They need more bite - or the Boards need more acccountability. The Boards are too caught up within themselves and their own power games to care about the game of cricket at large. They are much happier defending players, pushing things under the carpet. One way to make it hurt a bit for a player is the IPL. If Dilshan's wrongdoing comes to light, no franchisee should touch him. Not if he is the greatest player on earth. That would be some punishment at least for the concerned players. If the individual Boards cannot take proper action, at least a private league like the IPL can teach them a lesson or two. The entire game of cricket is at stake here - and these few cricketers and people in cricket administration are making a mockery of it. Yes, the charges against the player need to be substantiated but this "innocent until proven guilty" is being stretched now to breaking point. No thanks to ACSU not being able to do anything other than "express concerns". Frustrating times for a cricket fan who wants to see clean cricket and wants to see players punished for abusing the game.

[Duckworth&Lewis]

EDIT - It can be Mahela. He quit captaincy after One poor series. And his performances are suddenly good and bad too. So it might be him. Who knows?

You can apply that theory to any SL player. IMO they all are suspects. :cantstop: Dilhara Fernando is the biggest spot fixer walked on to a cricket ground. He's not going to escape by saying he was born in No-ball Junction. When u talking about captaincy, I think they have decided to share it in a fair manner. It's a well known fact that Mahela and Sanga are mango friends.

[thongale]

LMAO. Why would ICC instruct Sri Lankan Police to investigate something happened in United Kingdom. FFS, can SL police so bossy to investigate crimes that should be dealt with Scotland Yard?:giggle:

[Sujan]

Dilhara in Anti-Corruption radar for past two years After rounds of predictions, a new thing has come up now.... Dilhara in Anti-Corruption radar for past two years Leading Sri Lanka fast bowler Dilhara Fernando has been in the International Cricket Council’s Anti Corruption Unit radar for the last two years, ‘The Island’ reliably learns. ‘The Island’ can confirm that the officers from ICC’s Anti-Corruption Unit were in Colombo for an inquiry either early this year or late last year and Fernando had to be helped by a translator. A former Manager of the National cricket team had functioned as the translator helping the inquiry; cricket sources told ‘The Island’. Although all the attention with regard to ICC investigations has been now diverted to a leading batsman in the side, we can confirm that Fernando was under ICC investigations for almost two years now. Apart from the batsman mentioned above, a young all-rounder also has been under ICC investigations since the conclusion of last year’s ICC T-20 World Cup in England, where Sri Lanka emerged runners-up losing a one-sided final to Pakistan at Lord’s. Fernando, 31, has been in and out of the Sri Lankan side since the emergence of Lasith Malinga and Nuwan Kulasekara. He was part of the Sri Lankan side that drew the high scoring second Test Match against India at the Sinhalese Sports Club ground last month where he picked up just one wicket. His last appearance in Sri Lankan colours however was in the recent tri-nation tournament match against India at Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium. Source : Island

[kabira]

I remember him misfielding or missing easy run out in must win game for Mumbai in IPL2. Had they won that game they would have been in semis.

[Sujan]

I remember him misfielding or missing easy run out in must win game for Mumbai in IPL2. Had they won that game they would have been in semis.

LOL its just an allegation.. He's not guilty until proven Are we gonna see every no-ball, wide, mis-fields from the point of Match-fixing ? :winky:

[achilles]

Dilhara Fernando? I can't believe it. This guy is such a talented and dedicated cricketer.