Sri Lanka MP accuses his team fixing Asia Cup 2023 final against India

Former Asia Cup winners Sri Lanka had the forgettable final in the Asia Cup 2023 as defending champions. Playing against their old foes, India, they won the toss and elected to bat first. However, this decision turned out to be a disaster as they were bowled for just 50 runs. Mohammed Siraj took six wickets in the game while Hardik Pandya took three and Jasprit Bumrah took one.

The Lankan Lions lost the game by 10 wickets. Two days after the defeat, a Sri Lankan MP in the opposition, Tissa Attanayake insisted on investigating the loss and any alleged politics involved in the match.

“Everyone expected a keenly fought encounter on Sunday but it was not so, as the match ended within few hours. I don’t want to describe the defeat as it will affect the morale of our players. However, an investigation has to be conducted to determine whether there has been any politics involved in the defeat. “We are deeply disappointed and saddened with the defeat Sri Lanka has suffered,” he said.

Sri Lanka Sports Ministry can’t be trusted to investigate the loss: Tissa Attanayake

The MP added that the current Sports Ministry officials in the island nation have been summoned for alleged scams related to a cricket stadium.

“The Sports Ministry officials were summoned before the Committee on Public Accounts (COPA) recently after the auditor general had revealed several scams. It has been revealed that no stadium has been found in Kilinochchi though the annual performance report of the Sports Ministry had revealed that it has spent millions for a new stadium in the North, while the Ministry has not been able to produce a proper balance sheet to reveal its assets and liabilities. Can the Sports Ministry conduct a probe on the Asia Cup defeat under such circumstances?” he replied when questioned whether the Sports Ministry should be entrusted with the task of carrying out an investigation.