Colombo. Sri Lanka’s Attorney General has informed the court that Yoni Patel, owner of Kandy Samp Army, one of the seven teams playing in the Legends Cricket Trophy, has been charged with match-fixing.
The government lawyer representing the Attorney General informed the Colombo Magistrate on Monday that Yoni Patel has been charged with the offense in the Colombo High Court.
He has been accused of pressurizing a cricketer to get involved in fixing during the Legends Cricket Trophy played with the participation of a large number of retired international stars at Pallekele in the Central Hills in Sri Lanka.
The investigation was initiated on the complaint of retired Sri Lankan national cricketer Upul Tharanga, who himself plays for a team owned by Patel.
Former Sri Lankan white ball captain and current chairman of the cricket selection committee, Tharanga had complained about match fixing along with former New Zealand cricketer Neil Broom, who played for Punjab Royals.
The complaint said that he was contacted by two persons who identified themselves as the owner of the Kandy Samp team and the manager of Punjab Royals.
According to preliminary investigation, one of the alleged match fixers had offered money to players to perform poorly and fix match results.
Tharanga then immediately complained to the Special Investigation Unit of the Sri Lankan Sports Ministry, set up to prevent sports-related corruption, while Broom reported to New Zealand Cricket and later to the ICC.
The SIU investigation revealed that the team manager called Broom into his room and asked him to score less than 10 runs after facing more than 10 balls.
After preliminary investigation, Patel was released on bail of 10 million Sri Lankan rupees but he is banned from leaving Sri Lanka.
With seven teams of retired international cricketers from England, Australia, India, Pakistan, New Zealand and West Indies, the Legends Cricket Trophy 2024 was held from March 8 to 19 at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium.