Travel ban on Sachithra Senanayake accused of match-fixing

AFP: A Sri Lankan court slapped a travel ban on former national cricketer Sachithra Senanayake on Monday, the first player to be investigated for match-fixing under a new anti-corruption law.

The 38-year-old spinner’s passport was impounded after State lawyers asked for more time to investigate an incident from the 2020 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, who played his last international match against Australia in a T20 game in September 2016, is accused of influencing two LPL players to fix their matches in 2020.

He retired from all forms of the game in February 2020 but investigations into his conduct continued.

Police said Senanayake is the first player to be prosecuted under a 2019 sports law that recognises match-fixing as a criminal offence.

A conviction could result in a maximum jail term of 10 years, a fine not exceeding Rs. 100 million ($ 317,000), or both.

Formal charges against Senanayake are to be read out in October but the former player has publicly maintained his innocence.