Contrary to what may have been intended by former Sports Minister Mahindananda Aluthgamage’s claim that the country’s cricket team fixed the result of the 2011 World Cup final against India, the biggest fear now is that the charge can do more harm to the image of some of Sri Lanka’s most iconic players who featured in the contest.
Among them were Kumar Sangakkara, who captained the team and is now the head of the world’s most acclaimed Maryleborne Cricket Club (MCC), century-maker Mahela Jayawardena and the monumental Muttiah Muralideran the greatest wicket-grabber in history.
Sangakkara has already nudged Aluthgamage to provide his “evidence” to the International Cricket Council (ICC) while Jayawardena chose to call the charge a “political circus” ahead of a Parliamentary election after nine years and two more World Cups had passed into history.
“We sold the World Cup final (against India in 2011),” Aluthgamage told a local television channel on Thursday.
In 2011 Sri Lanka Cricket’s administration was in government hands in the form of an Interim Committee under the chairmanship of DS de Silva and Nishantha Ranatunga its secretary.
Ironically members of the current elected administration have been the ones often accused of turning a blind eye to corruption in cricket and are now seeing an opportunity for a counter punch.
“If there was match-fixing at the 2011 World Cup, then it was he (Aluthgamage) who was the Sports Minister and he should have initiated an inquiry against the former Administration running cricket,” said current Sri Lanka Cricket secretary Mohan de Silva.
“This is a very irresponsible statement on his (Aluthgamage’s) part and it has also projected a bad reflection of the country’s image and the reputation of the players who played in that final.”
According to the ICC’s Declarations and Clauses in its global fight against match-fixing, any player or official whether retired or currently performing, who even withholds information on misdeeds run the risk of being branded a collaborator.
One of them, former Sri Lanka captain Sanath Jayasuriya was banned in retirement by the ICC for two years for failing to assist its Anti Corruption Unit (ACU).
Aluthgamage’s sworn claims also renders a host of illustrious cricket commentators as worthless after he asserted that Sri Lanka should have won the final and lifted the World Cup, a prediction that even specialist experts avoid making.
A star-studded Indian team chased down a target of 274 and won by six wickets with the in-form Gautham Gambhir making 97 and the charismatic MS Dhoni finishing the match with a six for an unbeaten 91.
The rest of the players in the Sri Lanka team were Tillekaratne Dilshan, Upul Tharanga, Thilan Samaraweera, Chamara Kapugedera, Thisara Perera, Nuwan Kulasekera, Suraj Randiv and Lasith Malinga.