Sri Lanka player Praveen Jayawickrama banned after confessing ICC Corruption - What is the player's offence?

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The International Cricket Council (ICC) has imposed a ban on a Sri Lanka cricketer after the player confessed to corruption.

The accused player is Praveen Jayawickrama, who has represented his country across all formats of the game. Jayawickrama, a 26-year-old, is now set to face the consequences for his offence.

The suspension includes six months of suspended time, acknowledging Jayawickrama's admission to obstructing an investigation under Article 2.4.7 of the Code. This specific violation involves the delay or obstruction of any inquiry by the Anti-Corruption Unit (ACU), including the concealment or destruction of evidence relevant to the investigation.

In detail, Jayawickrama was found guilty of not reporting corrupt approaches in accordance with Article 2.4.4 of the ICC Anti-Corruption Code. These unreported approaches included two instances where he was solicited to engage in match-fixing during future international matches and to recruit another player for fixing in the 2021 Lanka Premier League. Additionally, Jayawickrama obstructed the investigation by erasing potentially incriminating messages under Article 2.4.7, further complicating the ACU's efforts to uncover the truth behind the corruption allegations.

What was Praveen Jayawickrama's offence?

Jayawickrama's involvement in corruption was first brought to light through his interaction with an old school friend identified only as MR X. This friend, aiming to benefit financially from betting activities, proposed that Jayawickrama facilitate match-fixing by contacting Sri Lankan player PLAYER A with an offer. The plan was to secure that player's involvement in fixing matches in exchange for a significant sum of money. Despite receiving clear instructions from anti-corruption training on how to handle such situations, Jayawickrama failed to report these conversations to the appropriate anti-corruption officials or to warn PLAYER A about the corrupt proposal.

This situation escalated when MR X moved forward with the plan, directly approaching [PLAYER A] with the corrupt offer. Fortunately, PLAYER A reported the proposal, thereby alerting authorities to the attempted corruption.

In a subsequent move, MR X attempted to lure Jayawickrama into committing minor corrupt acts, such as deliberately bowling a no-ball, in return for financial gain once he became part of the national team. Jayawickrama declined this offer but made the critical mistake of not reporting it. Following an investigation into MR X by the police, Jayawickrama deleted all messages between them, effectively removing evidence of the corrupt approaches and their associated financial incentives.

What will be the Punishment?

ICC has decided to ban Praveen Jayawickrama for a year, which means, the player won't be able to play for his country till October 2025. But as the player accepted his offence, six months of his ban has been suspended.

"As a result of the admission, Jayawickrama has accepted a sanction of a one-year period of ineligibility, of which the last six months are suspended," a statement from ICC read.