Sanga and Mahela making a big deal, says former Sri Lanka minister who alleged World Cup final was fixed
Sri Lanka’s ex Sports Minister Mahindananda Aluthgamage had on Thursday claimed that the 2011 World Cup final between India and Sri Lanka at Wankhede in Mumbai was fixed. Aluthgamage, who was the Sports Minister at the time of the World Cup, didn’t name any cricketers involved in match fixing but claimed that a few groups were involved in the act.
“I would not involve the cricketers in this. However, certain groups were definitely involved in fixing the game,” Aluthgamage had said while speaking to Daily Mirror.
“The team who played the final match was not the team we had selected, finalized and sent off. At the last moment, without the consultation of either me as the then minister of Sports or officials of the Sri Lanka Cricket Control Board, four new players had been included to the team,” he added.
Sri Lanka stars want proof
Mahela Jayawardene, who hit an unbeaten century in the final, and Kumar Sangakkara, the then skipper of the team asked Aluthgamage to back his claims with a proof. In response, Aluthgamage questioned why the two cricketers were making a big deal out of the issue because he had not named any cricketer in particular. “Mahela has said that the circus has started. I don’t understand why Sanga and Mahela are making a big deal about this,” Aluthgamage was quoted as saying by Cricket Next.
“I am not referring to any of our players. Everyone is talking about just two minutes of a half an hour interview I gave to a TV channel. Even Arjuna Ranatunga has openly talked about match-fixing issues earlier,” he added.
In the World Cup final, Sri Lanka made 274/6 in their 50 overs while India, in reply, chased down the target in 48.2 overs and lifted the coveted trophy after a long wait of 28 years under MS Dhoni’s captaincy.