Former India Under-19 player Manjot Kalra has been remanded until July 31 in Colombo
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Former India Under-19 player Manjot Kalra has been remanded by the Magistrate’s Court in Colombo until July 31, Sri Lanka police has confirmed, after he was arrested on July 16 on charges of corruption relating to the 2026 Lanka Premier League season.
Kalra, who is one of the co-owners of the Jaffna Kings franchise along with entrepreneur Mayank Goel, was produced before the court on July 17.
According to local media, the court heard that Kalra had allegedly approached players participating in LPL 2026–Bhanuka Rajapaksa and Sri Lanka national players Dunith Wellalage and Avishka Fernando–all of whom play for the Jaffna Kings franchise. Investigators revealed in court that Kalra had allegedly offered the players over USD 30,000 to influence the outcome of games, and that they had in their possession recorded phone conversations and video evidence to support their case.
Following the initial approach, the players are said to have contacted the Special Investigations Unit (SIU) for the Prevention of Offences Relating to Sports, after which they had, on instructions of the SIU, negotiated a payment of LKR 11.5 million with LKR 9.5 million as an advance. Kalra and an unnamed second person were arrested when the second person had brought a bag containing the advance payment to a pre-agreed location, according to media reports of the court proceedings.
The defence counsel rejected all allegations, asserting there was no evidence of Kalra offering or paying a bribe. Bail was sought but denied, with the Chief Magistrate stating that doing so could prejudice the investigation.
In a statement released on his behalf, Kalra denied the allegations and said he was “fully cooperating with the ongoing investigation” and “is confident that the facts will establish his innocence and clear his name”.
