The International Cricket Council (ICC) has made it loud and clear that former Sri Lanka cricketer turned groundsman Jayananda Warnaweera still remains a person of interest for Anti-Corruption Unit and he will have to face the inquiry even as his three year ban is ended, Cricket Age exclusively learns.
The 55-year-old Sri Lankan, who played 10 Tests and six one-day internationals, was serving as Galle stadium groundsman, when ICC in January 2016 suspended him for three years after the former Test player failed to cooperate with anti-corruption officials. Simultaneously, he was handed a two-year suspension by his own country’s board in November for the same offence.
As his ICC ban ended in January this year, Warnaweera is gearing up to return to cricket fold, this time as an administrator. Cricket Age understand that Warnaweera was all set to contest the Galle District Cricket Association elections, which was scheduled to be held on March 31, but due to the Coronavirus crisis, it has been indefinitely postponed.
However, when Cricket Age inquired with ICC, it revealed that Warnaweera still have to face Anti-Corruption Unit, if he wants to return to cricket fold.
“He remains a person of interest and the ICC Anti-Corruption Unit is still keen to talk to him. He didn’t face the hearing and skipped the procedure, so obviously it will start all over again” ICC replied to Cricket Age.
At the time of slapping three-year ban on him, the ICC had said Warnaweera was charged after he missed meetings and also failed to provide documents to its anti-corruption unit (ACU) for an investigation, the details of which were not disclosed.
“Warnaweera failed, on two separate occasions, to attend a scheduled interview with the ACU in relation to an ongoing investigation and failed to provide documents required from him in connection with the investigation,” an ICC statement had said in January 2016.
