Sri Lankan police question spectators over possible links to fixers
Action taken after SLC's anti-corruption unit flags the spectators for excessive mobile phone usage during Sri Lanka-India women's game
Madushka Balasuriya
17-Sep-2018
The Sri Lanka players celebrate a wicket • SLC
Five Indian nationals were questioned by Sri Lankan police over possible links to fixers after Sri Lanka Cricket's anti-corruption unit flagged them during the third women's ODI between Sri Lanka and India on September 16.
"The five were initially asked to leave the ground at Katunayake, just north of the capital Colombo, and later detained by police for investigations," the Daily News quoted an SLC official as saying.
SLC CEO Ashley de Silva confirmed to ESPNcricinfo that it was the excessive use of mobile phones that had alerted the anti-corruption unit.
"We didn't have very much to go on," he said. "But our guys noticed that they were using their mobile phones excessively, and approached and questioned them. Following that the anti-corruption officers felt there was adequate suspicion to hand over the individuals to the police for further questioning."
The match - the last of the three-ODI series - had Sri Lanka come out triumphant with just one ball to spare as they recorded their highest-ever successful chase, though India won the series 2-1.
De Silva estimated that approximately 1000 spectators were present at the game, which was being broadcasted on terrestrial television as well as live-streamed online. As such, this global availability could make the tournament more attractive to bookies.
This is the second time in recent past Sri Lanka Cricket have flagged suspicious activity. Last month also a group of foreign nationals were ejected from an SLC T20 league fixture after being identified for the suspicious use of mobile phones.