On September 6th, Sachithra Senanayake, a former Sri Lanka spinner, found himself in a serious situation. He voluntarily turned himself in to the police because they suspected him of trying to fix cricket matches, which is a very dishonest thing to do in the world of sports.
Sachitra Senanayake turned himself in to the authorities because they accused him of fixing matches during the Lanka Premier League in 2020. This means he was involved in cheating to control the outcome of the games in an unfair way. As a result, he was arrested by the police.
The Sri Lanka spinner facing some serious accusations. They say he tried to manipulate the outcome of games, making them unfair. And he allegedly did this by talking on the phone with two other players, all the way from Dubai. They believe they coordinated their schemes through these long-distance calls.
Senanayake faced serious allegations during the 2020 Lanka Premier League (LPL) season. He was accused of trying to manipulate the outcomes of games, which is commonly referred to as “fixing.” It was claimed that he persuaded two other players to get involved in these illegal activities.
Before these allegations came to light, Senanayake had quite a career in international cricket. He represented his national team, Sri Lanka Cricket Team, in different formats of the game. He played just one Test match, which is the longest format of cricket, between 2012 and 2016. Additionally, he participated in 49 One Day Internationals (ODIs) and 24 Twenty20 (T20) internationals during his cricket career.
Under which law the Sri Lanka spinner is arrested!!!
The arrest was carried out in accordance with the Prevention of Offences Relating to Sports Act, a law that was put into effect in 2019. According to this law, if someone tries to get another person to do something dishonest or unfair in any sport, like cheating or fixing the outcome, they are committing a crime called “corruption in sports.”
What’s important to note is that this arrest marks the very first time someone has been taken into custody under this specific law.
A month ago, Sachitra Senanayake faced a travel ban from the court. This happened because an investigation had started to look into some accusations against him.
Sachitra Senanayake’s cricketing career
Sri Lanka spinner Senanayake had quite an impressive career leading up to 2014 when questions were raised about his bowling action. He played a crucial role in Sri Lanka’s successful 2014 T20 World Cup campaign. Additionally, he was picked up by the Kolkata Knight Riders for a hefty sum of USD $625,000 during the 2013 IPL season.
After a brief comeback in 2014, during which he altered his bowling technique, his career took a downward turn. He participated in his final 49 One-Day Internationals (ODIs) in December 2015.
His last 24 Twenty20 Internationals (T20Is) in 2016. He also had a single chance to play in a Test match in 2013; however, he couldn’t manage to take any wickets.
