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November 6, 2000
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Lanka appoint lawyer to investigate allegations

Sri Lankan cricket officials on Monday appointed a prominent lawyer to look into allegations that two of the country's top players were involved in match-fixing.

The allegations against former captains Arjuna Ranatunga and Aravinda DeSilva were made in a report released last week by the Indian Central Bureau of Investigation.

Board of Control for Cricket in Sri Lanka president Thilanga Sumathipala told a news conference that Desmond Fernando would investigate.

He said Fernando's task was "to look into questions arising from the CBI report and to advise the BCCSL as to whether there is prima facie evidence of violation of the rules of the board" by current or former players.

Sumathipala said the report by Fernando, the BCCSL's member on the ICC code of conduct commission, would also be given to the country's sports minister "for him to take appropriate action under...the prevailing laws in the country".

Fernando has 30 days from Tuesday to finish the report, and Sumathipala said he would look at matches going back at least 10 years.

The CBI said Ranatunga and DeSilva are among nine non-Indian players who had either been offered or paid money by Indian bookmakers, allegations which shocked the cricket world.

"It was a dark day to hear that from a Sri Lankan cricket point of view," said Sumathipala, who added the two players had denied the allegations to his face.

"Yes they did, both of them, point blank," he said.

Ranatunga is retired but Sumathipala said de Silva was still eligible for selection as he is "innocent until proven guilty".

He said the board did not want to comment now on the players' denials, but added: "We hope and pray that these allegations are not true because these two players have done so much for Sri Lankan and world cricket."

Ranatunga retired from the game earlier this year after a career spanning 18 years.

He was one of the most popular players in the country after leading his team to victory over Australia in the 1996 World Cup final.

Mail Cricket Editor

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