Jayasuriya maintains innocence

In the wake of his two-year ban from cricket for corruption, Sanath Jayasuriya, the former Sri Lanka captain, reiterated once again that he was not actually guilty of engaging in any corrupt activity, and that he had accepted the ban for the “love” of the game.

After admitting two breaches of the International Cricket Council (ICC) Anti-Corruption Code, the 49-year-old was banned from all forms of cricket for two years. He had failed to hand over his phone to the Anti Corruption Unit which left him open to being charged by the ICC.

In a statement, the former cricketer said he wanted to protect the integrity of the sport. “I decided to admit the said charges at the first instance for the love of the sport of cricket, for the greater good and to protect the integrity of the sport of cricket,” Jayasuriya said in a statement on Twitter.

“The purported finding of the ACU stems from an alleged failure, on my part, to cooperate with the investigation carried out by the ACU by not providing a sim card and iPhone immediately on demand to the ICC ACU Officials.

“It is clear that there were no corruption charges, betting charges or misuse of inside information charges levelled against me under the Code.”

Jayasuriya also revealed he didn’t take up the option of contesting the charges in front of the ICC ACU tribunal, saying that would have been a drain on mental and physical strength and finances.