Tillakaratne alleges match-fixing in Sri Lanka‎

Former Sri Lankan captain, Hashan Tillakaratne, has jolted the cricket fraternity, claiming match-fixing has been a part of cricket in his country. He warned that the team could be in serious trouble in the near future, just like Pakistan who suffered recently in England's spot-fixing scandal. Taking to the Lankan press, Tillakaratne stated, “I say this with responsibility. It (match-fixing) is just like a relay. I run my lap and hand over the baton to you, you complete your lap and give it to another. This is a network. No one can ever go out of it and no one can come into it. This situation was always there.” However, the former player didn’t allege the team of fixing in the ICC World Cup 2011. He said, “I am not saying that this match (The world cup final) was fixed. But anyway match fixing is something which has been in this country over a period of time. This has spread like a cancer today.”
According to Tillakaratne, the situation has become much worse compared to the past and the reason behind it was corrupt administrators and politicians, who have remained silent for their own gains. Tillakaratne claimed of knowing all the people involved in match-fixing and threatened to reveal some big names in the near future. He said that there was still some time to stop Sri Lanka from becoming Pakistan. Cricket in Pakistan has also suffered a lot in the recent past due to fixing scandals. Three top cricketers, Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir were proved guilty of spot-fixing in January this year. They were charged with lengthy bans and heavy fines. There were some other players questioned by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) over match-fixing, but were able to prove their innocence to the board. Although things appeared to be headed towards the right direction, Pakistan’s former wicketkeeper batsman Zulqarnain Haider claimed the opposite. The 25-year-old left the team during a series against the Proteas in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and revealed later that some players were still involved in wrong doings. He didn’t take any names back then in London, but later blamed Kamran Akmal of having links with bookies.