Hashan Tillakaratne gears up to defend his match-fixing allegations
The former Sri Lanka skipper, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Hashan-Prasantha-Tillakaratne-c62021 on Tuesday, said that he still stands by his comments about match fixing in the national side but refused to reveal the names of those cricketers for his safety.
"I stand by my comments about match fixing but can't reveal names for my safety,” said the former Sri Lanka wicketkeeper at the much anticipated media conference. “I made the statement in good faith and I will reveal the names to the http://www.senore.com/Cricket/ICC-World-Cup-2011-c100625," he added further.
The Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) has asked Tillakaratne to support his allegations with evidences. The sports ministry of the country has also taken the comments seriously. Mahindananda Aluthgamage, the Sri Lanka sports minister has ordered the police chief to
conduct a probe into the fixing charges. Mr. Aluthgamage has also asked the former cricketer to furnish proofs to the sports ministry.
"Hashan should show proof of match-fixing to the Ministry. I don't think any Sri Lankan player would do such a thing, they play for the country and they would never think of doing such a thing," he said.
The 43-year-old wicketkeeper batsman from Colombo had last week claimed in a TV show that the menace of match-fixing prevailed in http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Sri-Lanka-c758 cricket since 1992. He had also said that he would divulge the names of the culprits soon.
"I can tell this in agreement with my conscience. Match fixing is not something that started happening yesterday or today. According to my knowledge, it happened since 1992. I say this with great responsibility," the former skipper had stated.
Tillakaratne is an active politician from the main opposition United National Party (UNP). The cricketer turned politician had made his One Day International debut in November 1986 and went on to play 200 ODIs before stepping down from international cricket
in 2004. His Test career started in December 2009 against http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Australia-c746 and featured in 183 five-dayers. He also captained the national side in 10 Test matches
Sri Lanka players, including veterans like http://www.senore.com/Cricket/DPMD-Jayawardene-c1397, have also asked their compatriot to support his allegations with evidences.
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