Former Sri Lanka captain Sanath Jayasuriya was banned from all cricket-related activities for two years after being found guilty of breaching two counts of International Cricket Council’s Anti-Corruption Code.

Alex Marshall, ICC General Manager of ICC’s ACU said: “This conviction under the Code demonstrates the importance of participants in cricket cooperating with investigations,” he said.

“Compelling participants to cooperate under the Code is a vital weapon in our efforts to rid our sport of corruptors. These rules are essential to maintain the integrity of our sport.”

Last month, Marshall had urged Sri Lanka’s scandal-ridden sporting community to come forward with information about corruption or risk expulsion from the game. In November, former pacer Dilhara Lokuhettige was suspended for corruption linked to a limited-over league in 2017.

Apart from Lokuhettige and Jayasuriya, former pacer Nuwan Zoysa was also charged for corruption. Jayasuriya was found guilty of failing to cooperate with a match-fixing probe and concealing information. Zoysa was suspended over match-fixing accusations.

Jayasuriya in a statement said he had pleaded guilty to the charges expecting a mitigated punishment. “Consequent to correspondence between the ICC ACU officials and my lawyers we agreed to a sanction of a period of ineligibility of two years, which period is to take effect from the October 15, 2018,” Jayasuriya said.

Jayasuriya played 110 Tests, 445 one-day internationals and 31 Twenty20s for Sri Lanka during his illustrious career between 1989-2011. He is also a former member of Sri Lanka’s parliament and a former deputy minister.

ICC, on their website, listed out the reasons behind slapping the two-year ban on Jayasuriya.

  1. Article 2.4.6 – Failure or refusal, without compelling justification, to cooperate with any investigation carried out by the ACU, including failure to provide accurately and completely any information and/or documentation requested by the ACU as part of such investigation.

  2. Article 2.4.7 – Obstructing or delaying any investigation that may be carried out by the ACU, including concealing, tampering with or destroying any documentation or other information that may be relevant to that investigation and/or that may be evidence or may lead to the discovery of evidence of corrupt conduct under the Anti-Corruption Code.