Indian co-owner remanded on match-fixing allegations

Two Indian nationals, including a co-owner of the Jaffna Kings cricket franchise, were remanded in custody until July 31 on Friday, July 17, 2026, following their arrest on suspicion of attempting to bribe players to fix matches in the ongoing Lanka Premier League. The arrests were made by Sri Lanka's Special Investigation Unit for the Prevention of Offences Relating to Sports just hours before the tournament's opening match.

The suspects were identified as Manjot Kalra, a 27-year-old former India Under-19 cricketer and co-owner of the Jaffna Kings, and another Indian national. They were produced before the Colombo Magistrates Court, where investigators presented evidence of recorded telephone conversations and video footage related to the alleged scheme. The investigators stated that the suspects had approached several Jaffna Kings players, including Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Dunith Wellalage, and Avishka Fernando, with match-fixing proposals approximately ten days before the league began.

According to the police, the players reported the approach, leading to a sting operation. Acting on instructions from investigators, the players allegedly negotiated with the suspects, who...