Sri Lankan cricket legend Sanath Jayasuriya has been banned from all cricket for two years after admitting two breaches of the International Cricket Council (ICC) Anti-Corruption Code, the sport’s governing body announced on Tuesday.
The 49-year-old – regarded as one of the greatest one-day international batsmen of all time and was pivotal in winning the 1996 World Cup – accepted the punishment.
“This conviction under the Code demonstrates the importance of participants in cricket cooperating with investigations,” said Alex Marshall, ICC General Manager of the Anti-Corruption Unit in a statement.
“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.”
Jayasuriya was charged in October after failing to provide his mobile phones to the ACU.
He was also accused of obstructing or delaying any investigation into corruption in the game.
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 15th of October 2018,” Jayasuriya said.
