Sri Lankan Captain Kumar Sangakkara At The Time Asked Former Sports Minister Mahindananda Aluthgamage To Produce Evidence :
Saturday’s sports ministry in Sri Lanka ordered an investigation into former sports minister Mahindananda Aluthgamage ‘s allegation that “certain parties” had fixed the loss of the national cricket team to India in the 2011 World Cup final. Sports Minister Dullas Alahapperuma has directed the inquiry and every two weeks, the ministry said in a tweet, called for a briefing on their success.
The sports secretary, KADS Ruwanchandra, on Alahapperuma’s directive, had complained to the ministry’s investigation unit on Saturday. Aluthgamage claimed that the game was “sold” to India by his country, an assertion ridiculed by former captains Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene who demanded proof from him.
In an interview with local television channel “Sirasa” Aluthgamage said that the final had been set. Setting a goal of 275, India has won the trophy thanks to Gautam Gambhir ‘s genius (97) and then skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni (91).
“Today I ‘m telling you we sold the 2011 World Cup, I said this when I was minister of sports,” said Aluthgamage, who was minister of sports at the time. “As a republic, I don’t want to announce this. I can’t remember exactly whether it was 2011 or 2012 but we were going to win that game,” added the politician, who was the state power minister in the new caretaker government who is in charge until the August 5 election.
Sri Lanka ‘s captain at the time, Sangakkara, asked him to produce evidence for a probe against corruption. “He must take his” evidence “to the ICC and the Anti-Corruption and Security Unit so that the claims can be thoroughly investigated,” he tweeted. Jayawardene, also a former captain who scored a hundred in that game, ridiculed the charge.
“Is the elections around the corner…like the circus has started…names and evidence?” he asked in a tweet. Aluthgamage said no players were, in his opinion, involved in fixing the result, “but there were certain parties.” Also previously, Aluthgamage had suggested that the game was locked.
In the final played match at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, both Aluthgamage and the then President Mahinda Rajapaksa were among the invited players. Former World Cup-winning captain Arjuna Ranatunga had already asked for an investigation in the 2011 World Cup final on suspected match-fixing.
