The International Cricket Council has urged Sri Lanka's scandal-ridden sporting community to come forward with information about corruption before an amnesty expires or risk expulsion from the game.
Sri Lankan cricket has been mired in corruption allegations in recent years, including claims of match fixing ahead of an international Test against England last year, and the sport's world governing body is in the middle of a major inquiry into the island nation.
The ICC said it had received a “positive response” after granting a 15-day amnesty this month for players, coaches or anyone else linked to the sport to come clean, free of the threat of punishment.
Council anti-corruption chief Alex Marshall said new cases had come to light and urged others to come forward before the amnesty expires on Thursday. “In the final few days, I would request the cricket fraternity to come forward and share any other information concerning corrupt conduct or approaches in the strictest of confidence,” he said in a statement issued late Monday. Those who refuse to share information with ICC investigators could face five-year bans if caught.
The ICC considers Sri Lanka the world's most corrupt cricketing nation and the sport's governance riddled with graft “from top to bottom”, Sri Lankan sports minister Harin Fernando said last month.
– AFP