Praveen Jayawickrama charged for breaching ICC Anti-Corruption Code

In what comes as a major development in Sri Lankan cricket just a day after the side’s historic ODI series win over India, left-arm spinner Praveen Jayawickrama has been charged by the International Cricket Council (ICC) with three counts of breaching the ICC Anti-Corruption Code.

According to an ICC release, the 25-year-old has been charged with the following offences under the Code:

Article 2.4.4 – Failing to report to the Anti-Corruption Unit, without unnecessary delay, details of an approach he received to carry out fixing in future International Matches.

Article 2.4.4 –Failing to report to the Anti-Corruption Unit, without unnecessary delay, details of an approach he received in which he was asked to approach another player, on a corrupter’s behalf, to carry out fixing in the 2021 Lanka Premier League.

Article 2.4.7 – Obstructing the investigation by deleting messages in which the approaches and offers to engage in corrupt conduct were made.

The ICC release further confirms that Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) has given the go-ahead for the ICC to ‘take action with respect to the Lanka Premier League charge alongside the International Match charges’.

Jayawickrama has 14 days from 6 August 2024 to respond to the charges.

The 25-year-old spinner made his international debut in 2021 and came to the limelight for picking up an 11-wicket haul on debut against Bangladesh, but he has not played any game for Sri Lanka in two years. His last appearance was in a T20I against Australia in June 2022.

Jayawickrama, notably, did not feature in the recent edition of the LPL that concluded last month. 

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