Match-fixing allegations in Sri Lanka appears to be all about politics and nothing to do, per se, with sports or any on-field action.
A former Sri Lanka sports minister has announced in a television interview that the 2011 ICC World Cup final was sold to India. However, he hastens to add that no players were involved but "certain parties were". It defies logic how the result of a match could be fixed without keeping the players in the loop. After all its the players who must perform, or under-perform in this case, to get at a pre-conceived result.
Not so unexpectedly the reaction of the then Sri Lankan captain Kumar Sangakkara has been one of incredulity. While Sangakkara has quite rightly demanded solid evidence for a thorough probe by the ICC anti-corruption unit, his teammate and former Sri Lankan captain Mahela Jayewardene immediately pointed to the upcoming elections in the island nation, saying "the circus has started".
Mahindananda Aluthgamage was indeed the sports minister of Sri Lanka in 2011 and attended the ICC World Cup final at Mumbai's Wankhede Stadium along with his country's then president Mahinda Rajapaksa.
It was a tough one, no doubt, to swallow for Sri Lankan cricket fans that their team was unable to defend a rather big total of 275. But questioning the defeat more than nine years later makes little or no sense. There are only a handful of players still active from the 22 that figured in that title clash. Most have moved on, some still with cricket in other roles while others explore varied avenues, including politics.
India's then opener Gautam Ganbhir, who top-scored in the chase with 97, is a member of Parliament.
With elections scheduled for August in Sri Lanka, cricket becomes an easy target to settle scores. The shoot-and-scoot tactics may be fine for the political realm, but it does take the sheen off the performances and achievements of people who have toiled hard to make a mark at the highest levels.
There's no doubt that cricket rules the hearts of south Asians but it would behove the public to ignore such scandalous pronouncements without an iota of proof!
A former Sri Lanka sports minister has announced in a television interview that the 2011 ICC World Cup final was sold to India. However, he hastens to add that no players were involved but "certain parties were". It defies logic how the result of a match could be fixed without keeping the players in the loop. After all its the players who must perform, or under-perform in this case, to get at a pre-conceived result.
Not so unexpectedly the reaction of the then Sri Lankan captain Kumar Sangakkara has been one of incredulity. While Sangakkara has quite rightly demanded solid evidence for a thorough probe by the ICC anti-corruption unit, his teammate and former Sri Lankan captain Mahela Jayewardene immediately pointed to the upcoming elections in the island nation, saying "the circus has started".
Mahindananda Aluthgamage was indeed the sports minister of Sri Lanka in 2011 and attended the ICC World Cup final at Mumbai's Wankhede Stadium along with his country's then president Mahinda Rajapaksa.
It was a tough one, no doubt, to swallow for Sri Lankan cricket fans that their team was unable to defend a rather big total of 275. But questioning the defeat more than nine years later makes little or no sense. There are only a handful of players still active from the 22 that figured in that title clash. Most have moved on, some still with cricket in other roles while others explore varied avenues, including politics.
India's then opener Gautam Ganbhir, who top-scored in the chase with 97, is a member of Parliament.
With elections scheduled for August in Sri Lanka, cricket becomes an easy target to settle scores. The shoot-and-scoot tactics may be fine for the political realm, but it does take the sheen off the performances and achievements of people who have toiled hard to make a mark at the highest levels.
There's no doubt that cricket rules the hearts of south Asians but it would behove the public to ignore such scandalous pronouncements without an iota of proof!
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