Former Sri Lanka captain Sanath Jayasuriya, who was charged in October for corruption, has been banned from all cricket-related activities for two years after he admitted to breaching two anti-corruption codes of the International Cricket Council.
The 49-year-old admitted that he failed to cooperate with an investigation and “concealing, tampering with or destroying evidence”.
“As a result of the admissions, he has accepted a sanction of a two-year period of ineligibility,” read an ICC statement.
Jayasurya has been charged with breaching Articles 2.4.6 and 2.4.7 of the ICC anti-corruption code.
According to the ICC, the first breach was failure or refusal to cooperate with any investigation carried out by the ACU, including failure to provide accurately and completely any information and/or documentation requested by the ACU as part of such investigation.
The second breach pertained to obstructing or delaying any investigation that might be carried out by the ACU, including concealing, tampering with or destroying any documentation or other information that may be relevant to that investigation and/or that may be evidence or may lead to the discovery of evidence of corrupt conduct under the Anti-Corruption Code.
The ICC said the case was part of a wider investigation into corruption in Sri Lankan cricket.
Jayasuriya, who retired in 2012, was formerly the chairman of selectors.
Alex Marshall, ICC General Manager – ACU, said in the statement: “This conviction under the code demonstrates the importance of participants in cricket cooperating with investigations.” He added: “Compelling participants to cooperate under the code is a vital weapon in our efforts to rid our sport of corruptors. These rules are essential to maintain the integrity of our sport.”
Sanath Jayasuriya was a member of the Sri Lanka team that won the World Cup in 1996, and had been declared player of the tournament. He has 21 centuries and 323 wickets in 445 one-day internationals to his credit. His Test average was 40.07 runs in 110 matches.
Jayasuriya, who has also been a minister in the government, retired from international cricket in 2011 but was playing Twenty20 matches until 2012.
In September 2017, Jayasuriya had been asked to hand over any mobile phones after ICC felt they might contain information that could help with the wider investigation.
Jayasuriya handed over two phones, he had failed to provide two more phones and SIM cards.
In a statement after the ban, the cricketer said, “It is clear that there were no corruption charges, betting charges or misuse of inside information charges levelled against me.”
“I decided to admit the said charges at the first instance for the love of the cricket, for the greater good and to protect the integrity of cricket. I reiterate the fact that I have always maintained a high degree of integrity throughout my cricketing career,” said Sanath Jayasuriya.
In January this year, the ICC announced an unprecedented 15-day amnesty as part of its investigation into corruption in Sri Lankan cricket. This resulted in 11 players and other participants coming forward with new information.
“The amnesty has worked very well and has delivered significant new and important intelligence. This new information has assisted a number of our ongoing investigations and has resulted in some new investigations getting underway,” Marshall said.
“I am very grateful to those who participated in the amnesty and as a result of the information shared we now have a much clearer picture of the situation in Sri Lanka and our investigations are continuing,” he added.