Sri Lanka’s Upul Tharanga to be summoned for 2011 World Cup final investigations

Upul Tharanga, the veteran Sri Lankan cricketer, is set to be summoned regarding the 2011 World Cup final between the Islanders and India at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. The news was put forth by Jagath Fonseka, the Superintendent of the newly-established Anti-Corruption Unit.

Earlier, Aravinda de Silva, former Lankan skipper and chief selector, was grilled for nearly six hours, starting the investigations into the match-fixing charges, brought by Mahindananda Aluthgamage, who was the sports minister when the WC final took place on April 2. The decision to call Tharanga was taken, based on De Silva’s statement.

“Today we started the investigation into (2011 World Cup) match fixing allegations. Based on the statement given by Aravinda de Silva today, we have decided to summon a player from the 2011 squad, Upul Tharanga, tomorrow to record his statement,” Fonseka was quoted as saying to the reporters outside his unit’s office where the chief selector was questioned.

Upul Tharanga scored a 20-ball 2 in the final

Last month, Aluthgamage had shocked the cricket world, claiming that the game was fixed. However, he refrained from revealing any names, who were involved in the crime. “I feel I can talk about it now. I am not connecting players, but some sections were involved,” Aluthgamage had said.

Later, Kumar Sangakkara, the Lankan skipper in that game, asked the former minister to take the evidences to the International Cricket Council (ICC). Even Mahela Jayawardena, who scored a century in that match, shared his opinions. But later, Aluthgamage told that it was only his suspicion.

As far as Upul Tharanga is concerned, he scored only two off 20 balls before being caught by Virender Sehwag at slip off Zaheer Khan. The Lankans ended up losing the match by six wickets after posting 274 for six in their 50 overs. Jayawardena’s valiant efforts also went in vain. Sangakkara had also scored 48 off 67 before Yuvraj Singh dismissed him.

Previously, Arjuna Ranatunga, the 1996 World Cup-winning Sri Lankan captain, also sounded doubtful about the result of the match in Mumbai. Subsequently, he called for an investigation. Further developments surrounding the game remain to be seen.