Sanath Jayasuriya: Ex-Sri Lanka captain faces corruption charges

Sanath Jayasuriya

Sanath Jayasuriya was the player of the tournament when Sri Lanka won the World Cup in 1996

Ex-Sri Lanka captain Sanath Jayasuriya has been charged by the International Cricket Council with two breaches of its anti-corruption code.

The 49-year-old former all-rounder is accused of failing to co-operate with an investigation by the governing body.

He is also charged with obstructing the investigation by “concealing, tampering with or destroying evidence”.

Jayasuriya, a former chair of the Sri Lanka selectors’ committee, is regarded as one of the greatest one-day players.

He has 14 days to respond to the charges.

According to the BBC Sinhala service, the charges against Jayasuriya pertained to him refusing to hand over his mobile phone to ICC authorities for “personal reasons”.

Earlier this month, Alex Marshall, general manager of the ICC anti-corruption unit, announced an investigation into “serious allegations of corruption” in Sri Lanka.

BBC Sinhala understands Jayasuriya was chairman of selectors during the period under investigation

Jayasuriya was player of the tournament as Sri Lanka won the World Cup in 1996 and he scored 21 centuries and took 323 wickets in 445 one-day internationals. He also averaged 40.07 runs in 110 Test matches.

The former government minister retired from international cricket in 2011, but continued playing Twenty20 matches until 2012.

Sanath Jayasuriya: Ex-Sri Lanka captain faces corruption charges}