Ex-Lanka pacer Lokuhettige found guilty of match-fixing

Dubai: Former Sri Lankan cricketer Dilhara Lokuhettige was found guilty of three offences under the ICC Anti-Corruption Code following a hearing by an independent Tribunal, the ICC said on Thursday.

Lokuhettige was charged under the ICC Anti-Corruption Code in November, 2019 for his involvement in match-fixing during a T20 tournament in UAE in 2017, where a Sri Lankan team participated.

He was also charged by the ICC on behalf of the Emirates Cricket Board (ECB), for breaching three counts of the ECB Anti-Corruption Code for participants for the T10 League and these proceedings are ongoing.

The former pacer was found guilty on all charges, after he exercised his right to a hearing before an independent Anti-Corruption Tribunal.

Lokuhettige remains suspended and sanctions will follow in due course.

“The three-member Tribunal concluded, by a majority, that the ICC had jurisdiction to bring the charges against Lokuhettige and was unanimous in deciding the merits of the case,” the ICC said in a statement.

According to the statement by ICC, Lokuhettige will be charged for three offences.

As per article 2.1.1, he has been a “party to an agreement or effort to fix or contrive or otherwise influence improperly the result, progress, conduct or other aspect(s) of a match.”

Article 2.1.4 state that he was “directly or indirectly soliciting, inducing, enticing, instructing, persuading, encouraging or intentionally facilitating any Participant to breach Code.”

As per article 2.4.4, Lokuhettige “failed to disclose to the ACU full details of any approaches or invitations received to engage in corrupt conduct under the Code.”

A bowling all-rounder by design, Lokuhettige had a very sparing international career, playing a mere 11 matches across a nine-year period. (UNI)