Arjuna Ranatunga, Aravinda de Silva shrug off match-fixing charges by former SLC Chief

“We have never taken bribes and we have never fixed matches", Ranatunga told reporters in Colombo.

Thilanga Sumathipala. (Getty)

 After former Sri Lankan Chief Thilanga Sumathipala made match-fixing allegations on former Sri Lankan players Arjuna Ranatunga and Aravindra de Silva, both of them have denied the claim. 

“We have never taken bribes and we have never fixed matches", Ranatunga told reporters in Colombo in the presence of de Silva.

Sumathipala had alleged that Ranatunga and de Silva were the first Sri Lankan players to have been charged of match-fixing. He said he was blamed for hushing up investigations.

“If I was someone to fix matches, why did he (Sumathipala) have me in his Cricket Committee?” asked de Silva, who had served the SLC under Sumathipala’s presidency in the past. De Silva said he did not take the allegations seriously.

“Not 15,000 dollars, but we could have made 15 million dollars if we threw the World Cup,” Ranatunga said, adding they never played for money but were committed to the game and upholding the honour of the country.

Sumathipala had said de Silva had been paid USD 15,000 by an Indian bookmaker to lose the Lucknow Test of 1994. Sri Lanka lost the match by an innings and 119 runs.

Interestingly, Ranatunga had earlier accused Sumathipala’s family of having links with bookies. 

(Inputs from SportStar Live)

 
 

By Anshuman Roy - 01 Aug, 2018

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