Former Sri Lankan captain Kumar Sangakkara was questioned for 10 hours in connection with the 2011 World Cup match-fixing allegations.
Sangakkara, 42, who led Sri Lanka in the 2011 final, was summoned by the police’s Special Investigation Unit for questioning after India defeated Sri Lanka at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.
“I came here to make a statement because of my respect for cricket and my responsibility for the game. After the conclusion, the truth will come out regarding the allegations of former Sports Minister Mahinda Nanda Ulth Gamage.
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He did not elaborate on what questions were asked of him, but said another former captain and finalist, Mahela Jayawardene, had been summoned for questioning on Friday.
Opening batsman Apple Tharanga was the first player to be summoned for questioning in connection with the allegations and was interrogated for more than two hours on Wednesday. Selector Arunda de Silva was interrogated for more than six hours.
It may be recalled that Mahinda Nanda Ulth Gamage, who held the post of Sports Minister of Sri Lanka in 2011, in a statement last month had made allegations of match-fixing in the 2011 World Cup final.
Sangakkara is currently the current president of the Marylebone Cricket Club in London, but before appearing before the Special Investigation Unit on Thursday, Sangakkara said the former sports minister should contact the International Cricket Council (ICC) over the allegations. ۔
“I feel like I can talk about it. I don’t link the allegations to the players, but some circles were involved,” Alma Gamage told local TV last month.
Batting first in the World Cup final, Sri Lanka scored 274 for six thanks to Jayawardene’s century and the Indian team was in trouble when the great batsman Sachin Tendulkar returned to the pavilion with just 18 runs.
However, thanks to Sri Lanka’s poor bowling and fielding, India changed the course of the match and India won the match to become world champions for the second time.
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Following the defeat, Sangakkara and Jayawardene resigned.
The toss of the match was also controversial as it happened twice. Match referee Jeff Crowe reportedly did not hear Heads from Sangakkara and asked Mahendra Singh Dhoni to toss the coin twice.
Sangakkara decided to bat first after winning the toss, which was criticized in the local media because the Sri Lankan team is currently chasing the target better.
Sri Lankan cricket has been plagued by various corruption and match-fixing scandals over the past decade, including allegations of match-fixing before the 2018 Test against England.
It may be recalled that Sri Lanka had declared match-fixing a crime in November last year and a person involved in this crime could be fined Rs 100 million and sentenced to 10 years imprisonment