India-Sri Lanka Galle Test was fixed, claims Al Jazeera report
New Delhi: Match fixing seems to have brought out its ugly head once again. In a shocking piece of revelation, Al Jazeera has claimed that last year’s Indian cricket team vs Sri Lanka Test at Galle and Australia-Sri Lanka Test at the same venue (2016) were fixed.
The investigations carried out by the Qatar-based media network revealed that criminals paid money to ground staff on both occasions to doctor pitches and guarantee outcomes. An effort has also been made to fix Sri Lanka-England Galle Test scheduled to be played in November this year.
The full details of the scandal will be revealed in a documentary titled ‘Cricket’s Match-Fixers’ that Al Jazeera will air on Sunday at 10 GMT.
Reacting to the allegations, the International Cricket Council (ICC) has said that it has already launched an investigation into Al Jazeera’s findings.
“The ICC is aware of an investigation into corruption in cricket by a news organisation and as you would expect we will take the contents of the programme and any allegations it may make very seriously,” read an ICC statement on its website.
“We have already launched an investigation working with anti-corruption colleagues from Member countries based on the limited information we have received.
“We have made repeated requests that all evidence and supporting materials relating to corruption in cricket is released immediately to enable us to undertake a full and comprehensive investigation.”
