We are satisfied with their [players] explanation. The inquiry is now closed, a top police official said
\nnews agency
\nCOLOMBO
\nSri Lankan authorities have said they are dropping a probe into match-fixing allegations surrounding the 2011 ICC World Cup final, saying they found no evidence of match-fixing by players.
\nThe world governing body of the sport, the International Cricket Council (ICC) said it had also looked into the recent allegations and found no reason to doubt the integrity of the 2011 final, won by India.
\nFormer chief selector Aravinda de Silva, and the team\u2019s skipper Kumar Sangakkara and opening batsman Upul Tharanga were questioned this week over suspicions that have dogged the match for years.
\n\u201cWe are satisfied with their explanation,\u201d a top police official told AFP. \u201cThe inquiry is now closed.\u201d
\nSri Lanka\u2019s four changes to the team just before the finals at Mumbai\u2019s Wankhede stadium were raised as suspicious by a Sri Lankan minister, Mahindananda Aluthgamage last month. He was the minister of sports in 2011.
\nThe officer said police had spoken to the players and the chief selector.
\n\u201cThey had reasonable explanations about the changes that were made to the final squad,\u201d the officer said. \u201cWe found no evidence of any wrongdoing.\u201d However, the ICC said it was willing to review its findings if presented with credible evidence.
\n\u201cWe take all allegations of this nature extremely seriously and should we receive any evidence to corroborate the claims, we will review our current position,\u201d ICC anti-corruption chief Alex Marshall said in a statement.
\n\u201cIf anyone has any evidence that this match or any other has been subject to match-fixing, we would urge them to get in contact with the ICC Integrity team.\u201d
\nThe sudden decision to end the Sri Lankan police investigators came after the 2011 team\u2019s vice captain Mahela Jayawardena went to the Special Investigation Unit (SIU) office to give a statement. \u201cWe will give our maximum cooperation,\u201d Jayawardena told reporters before leaving the SIU when officers refused to accept his testimony and told him to return later. Jayawardena had been called in after Sangakkara was grilled for nearly 10 hours by detectives on Thursday.
\nPolitical backlash
\nThe investigation has led to a social media backlash against the government which is facing a parliamentary election on August 5.
\nOpposition legislator Bimal Rathnayake poked fun at the police over the marathon grilling of Sangakkara, who is also president of England\u00b4s prestigious Marylebone Cricket Club.
\nHe tweeted that a 50-over cricket match lasts around 7-8 hours, even if all 100 overs are bowled, adding: \u201cCommittee questioned Sanga for 9 hours! Did they question him ball by ball?\u201d<\/p>\n
Sri Lanka\u2019s Opposition leader Sajith Premadasa said police dropped the high-profile match fixing probe following the social media and political backlash.<\/p>\n
\u201cMagic of \u2018People Power\u2019 has worked,\u201d Premadasa said on Twitter. \u201cSri Lanka\u2019s government has ultimately succumbed to public pressure and abruptly withdrawn the bogus, manipulated and politically motivated investigation… Bravo people of Sri Lanka!\u201d<\/p>\n
Another former sports minister Harin Fernando, who introduced anti-corruption laws in November, said Aluthgamage should be prosecuted for making a false allegation against cricket legends.<\/p>\n
Match-fixing was made a criminal offence in the new law. Offenders face fines of up to 100 million rupees ($555,000) and up to 10 years\u2019 jail.<\/p>\n
Aluthgamage faced a widespread backlash in the cricket-mad country for implicating former players in match fixing<\/p>\n
There was no immediate comment from Aluthgamage over the cancellation of the investigation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
We are satisfied with their [players] explanation. The inquiry is now closed, a top police official said news agency COLOMBO Sri Lankan authorities have said they are dropping a probe into match-fixing allegations surrounding the 2011 ICC World Cup final, saying they found no evidence of match-fixing by players. The world governing body of the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-130258","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-sports"],"yoast_head":"\n