ICC tribunal finds former Sri Lanka player Nuwan Zoysa guilty under anti-corruption code

Dubai: Already serving suspension on match-fixing charges, former Sri Lanka player and bowling coach Nuwan Zoysa has been found guilty of three offenses under the ICC anti-corruption code by an independent tribunal, the global cricket body said on Thursday. Zoysa was charged under the ICC anti-corruption code in November 2018 and has been found guilty on all charges after he exercised his right to a hearing before an independent anti-corruption tribunal. The Sri Lankan remains suspended and sanctions will follow in due course, the International Cricket Council said in a release. He was provisionally suspended in May 2019 on charges of indulging in corruption during a T20 league in the UAE. ICC said Zoysa has been found guilty of: Article 2.1.1 for being party to an agreement or effort to fix or contrive or otherwise influence improperly the result, progress, conduct or other aspect(s) of a match. Article 2.1.4 Directly or indirectly soliciting, inducing, enticing, instructing, persuading, encouraging or intentionally facilitating any Participant to breach Code Article 2.1. Article 2.4.4 Failing to disclose to the ACU full details of any approaches or invitations received to engage in corrupt conduct under the Code. “Zoysa has also been charged by the ICC on behalf of the Emirates Cricket Board (ECB) with breaching four counts of the ECB anti-corruption code for participants for the T10 League and these proceedings are ongoing,” the ICC said in the release. Zoysa, who played 30 Tests and 95 ODIs for Sri Lanka, was appointed Sri Lanka’s bowling coach in September, 2015. He worked at Sri Lanka cricket’s high performance centre, which gave him access to current international players. This only adds to Sri Lanka’s recent struggles with corruption in the sport. In December 2018, Sri Lanka’s former sports minister Harin Fernando had said that the country had been rated as the most corrupt cricket nation by the ICC, the world governing body of the sport.