Patel ordered to appear in Matale High Court on May 14
Amit Patel, also known as Yogi Patel, has been ordered to appear at the Matale High Court on May 14 by Judge Ravindra Premaratne. Patel has been accused of forcing or influencing former Sri Lanka cricketer and present Chairman of the Sri Lanka Cricket Selection Committee to fix matches.
Tharanga represented Kandy Swamp Army, owned by Patel during the Legends Cricket League which was held at Pallekele from March 8 to 19.
Patel, who is presently under bail, has been issued with summons to appear in court following an appeal filed by Government Solicitor Gevindu Seneviratne. The accused will be issued with charges when he appears in court next week according to the nature of summons being issued.
Patel, an Indian with citizenship in the USA, has been barred from leaving the country after the Colombo Chief Magistrate issued a travel ban, in accordance to the 2024 No.24 under the Regulation of Special Investigations Unit (SIU) to investigate and address issues related to corruption, misconduct and malpractices in sports administration and activities.
Patel’s lawyers sought the ban’s removal to visit his wife post-surgery. But the appeal was challenged by Police Inspector Supul Vithanage, who appeared on behalf of the SIU and Colombo Chief Magistrate Thilina Gamage rejected the appeal. The Colombo Chief Magistrate then ordered the accused to appear in Matale High Court and present his appeal there.
The accused has influenced the complainant to play favouring the opposing team, and if obliged he had offered an extra payment of Rs. One million to the player. Preliminary investigations showed that Tharanga reported the approach to the SIU, while another player, ex-New Zealander Neil Broom, informed New Zealand Cricket, who then alerted ICC investigators.
Sri Lanka became the first South Asian country to criminalize sports-related offenses, barring individuals in the betting and gaming industry from using insider information. The accused Patel and P. Akash could face a ban up to 10 years or a fine not exceeding Rs. 100 million, or both.