Cricket: Avishka Gunawardana suspended from all forms pending ICC inquiry

Former Sri Lanka national cricketer and Sri Lanka 'A' coach Avishka Gunawardana has been suspended from all cricket pending inquiry for violating ICC’s Anti Corruption Code. 

Gunawardene becomes the fourth high profile Sri Lankan cricketer to be charged by the world body on corruption charges joining the likes of Sanath Jayasuriya, Nuwan Zoysa and Dilhara Lokuhettige.

Gunawardene, the former dashing opener has been charged for directly or indirectly soliciting, inducing, enticing, instructing, persuading, encouraging or intentionally facilitating any participants to breach Code Artcile 2.1 and failing to disclose to the ACU (without unnecessary delay) full details of any incident, fact, or matter that comes to the attention of a Particiapant that may evidence corrupt conduct under the Anti-Corruption Code by another participants.

Gunwaradene who was recently appointed Sri Lanka Emerging Team Head Coach has 14 days to respond to the charges.

Sanath Jayasuriya was banned from all cricket activities for two years after admitting breaching two counts of the International Cricket Council’s anti-corruption code while Zoysa and Lokuhettige have been suspended pending the determination of corruption charges.

The former Sri Lanka opening bat and captain was accused of failing to cooperate with an investigation into corruption, and delaying or obstructing it, after the ICC issued a demand to examine his mobile phones. 

The 49-year-old admitted both breaches and has accepted the sanction.

Zoysa is also accused of "directly soliciting, inducing, enticing or encouraging a player" to fix or influence the progress of a match and failing to disclose approaches to "engage in corrupt conduct".

Lokuhettige was charged with "being party to any agreement or effort to fix" a match result, "directly or indirectly soliciting" a player to breach code, and failing to disclose "any approaches or invitations to engage in corrupt conduct".