COLOMBO: Sri Lanka "sold" the 2011 World Cup final to India, the country's former sports minister said Thursday, reviving one of the most explosive controversies over match-fixing.
Mahindananda Aluthgamage, who was minister of sports at the time, is the second high-ranking figure to claim that the final was arranged, after 1996 World Cup-winning captain Arjuna Ranatunga.
"I tell you today that we sold the finals of the World Cup 2011," Aluthgamage told Sirasa TV. "Even when he was a sports minister, he believed this." Aluthgamage, minister of sports from 2010 to 2015 and now minister of state for energy and renewable energy, said he "did not want to reveal" the plot at the time.
“In 2011, we were going to win, but we sold the game. I feel like I can talk about it now. I'm not connecting players, but some sections were involved, "he said.
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Kumar Sangakkara, the then Sri Lankan captain, said the serious allegations warrant an investigation by the International Cricket Council.
"It is a very serious accusation," Sangakkara told the Associated Press. "As he says he has proof and evidence, the prudent thing to do is go to the ICC's Anti-Corruption Unit and present his claims so that they can investigate them fully and come to a conclusion on whether what the former minister says is true or not.
Sri Lanka lost the match at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai by six wickets. Indian players have flatly denied any wrongdoing.
Ranatunga, who was at the stadium as a commentator, had already called for an investigation into the loss.
"When we lost, I was distraught and had a question," he said in July 2017.
"We must investigate what happened to Sri Lanka in the 2011 World Cup final." "I can't reveal everything now, but someday I will. There must be an investigation, "added Ranatunga, who said the players couldn't hide the" dirt. "
Sri Lanka batted first and scored 274-6 from 50 overs. They appeared in a commanding position when Indian superstar Sachin Tendulkar was out by 18. But India changed the game dramatically, thanks in part to Sri Lanka's poor shooting and bowling.
Sri Lankan cricket has been regularly involved in corruption controversies, including match-fixing claims before a 2018 Test against England.
Earlier this month, the Sri Lankan cricket board said the International Cricket Council was investigating three unidentified former players for alleged corruption.
Sri Lanka introduced severe match-fixing sanctions and stricter sports betting restrictions late last year in a bid to end the bribery.
Another former sports minister, Harin Fernando, said that Sri Lankan cricket was riddled with grafts "from top to bottom", and that the ICC regarded Sri Lanka as one of the most corrupt nations in the world.
Former Sri Lankan fast bowler Dilhara Lokuhettige was suspended in 2018 for corruption related to a limited league.
He was the third Sri Lankan charged under the ICC anti-corruption code, after former captain and former chief of squad Sanath Jayasuriya, and former pacemaker Nuwan Zoysa.
Jayasuriya was convicted of failing to cooperate with a match-fixing investigation and was banned for two years. Zoysa was suspended for match-fixing.
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