In what is a huge blow to Sri Lankan cricket, a former player has been arrested on match fixing charges. He is former cricket from island nation named Sachithra Senanayake, who played 1 Test, 49 ODIs and 24 T20Is for Sri Lanka. Senanayake is an off-spinner, who made his international debut vs South Africa in 2011-12. Senanayake's arrest comes as a big shock to the cricketing world. The player has shared dressing room with Sri Lankan legends such Sanath Jayasuriya, Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardena. 


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Senanayake was arrested by the Sports Corruption Investigation Unit. He surrendered hismelf on the morning of September 6. The PTI reported that the cricketer was stopped from travelling abroad by the court, some three weeks ago.


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The off-spinner was accused of fixing a Lanka Premier League (LPL) in 2020. He had allegedly also lured two players to fix the match. 


Currently, Senanayake has been banned for three months from travelling overseas after an order from Colombo Chief Magistrate's Court to Controller General of Immigration and Emigration. The same Court instructed on September 6 to Special Investigation Unit to frame criminal charges on former spinner.


The bad news for Sri Lankan cricket has come at a time when they are hosting the Asia Cup 2023. The Sri Lankan team has already qualified for the Super 4 stage of the tournament and will play Bangladesh on September 9 in their first clash of the second round.


South East Asian nations have been prone to match-fixing in the past as well. Indian cricket received a shock when the India captain Mohammad Azharuddin was accused of match-fixing. The allegations were however dropped after court did not find any concrete evidence to prove the charges. Pakistan's Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir were accused of doing spot-fixing in 2010 and received different bans. While Butt was banned for life, Amir received a ban of five years and Asif for seven years respectively.