Sanath Jayasundara, a performance analyst working in Sri Lanka Cricket’s “Brain Centre”, has become the latest figure in Sri Lankan cricket to be hit with corruption-related charges.
A long-time employee of SLC, Jaysundara has been charged by the ICC with offering a bribe to Sri Lanka’s Sports Minister Harin Fernando, in order to “influence improperly the result, progress, conduct or any other aspect of an international match.”
In addition, a charge relating to “obstructing or delaying an Anti-Corruption Unit (ACU) investigation” has also been laid. It is minister Fernando who is understood to have reported the alleged attempted bribe to the ACU, in January, less than a month after he had been appointed sports minister.
According to Sri Lanka’s high performance manager Asanka Gurusinha, Jayasundera had worked with Sri Lanka’s Under-19 team in addition to his duties with the Brain Centre, and had also worked with the national team in the past.
Where coaches Avishka Gunawardene and Nuwan Zoysa had on Friday been charged under the Emirates Cricket Board’s anti-corruption code, Jayasudera has been charged under the ICC’s own code. He now has 14 days to respond to the charges.