Avishka Gunawardene[/caption]
An independent Anti-Corruption Tribunal (ACT) has unanimously cleared former Sri Lanka batsman Avishka Gunawardene of two charges against him under the Emirates Cricket Board’s Anti-Corruption Code (ACC), allowing him to resume participation in cricket with immediate effect.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) in a media communiqué recalled yesterday (10) that the Tribunal, which also considered charges against Sri Lanka’s Nuwan Zoysa for four counts under the same Code, had “upheld one charge (2.4.6) against Mr. Zoysa while dismissing the other three charges”.
Zoysa was on 28 April handed a six-year ban from all cricket after he was found guilty of breaching the ICC ACC. The former Sri Lanka pacie and coach was banned for six years after the ICC ACT found him guilty of breaching the ICC ACC.
The ban for Zoysa is backdated to 31 October 2018, when he was provisionally suspended.
The ICC said yesterday: “The detailed decision on Gunawardene will be announced to the parties in due course and remains subject to appeal. The ICC (acting on behalf of the ECB) will consider the written reasoned decision in full before making any further comment,” the ICC media further added.
[caption id="attachment_135777" align="alignleft" width="219"]
Nuwan Zoysa speaking to the media in Colombo in Nov. 2020[/caption]
Gunawardene had been charged with:
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 2.4.5 – Failing to disclose to the ACU (without unnecessary delay) full details of any incident, fact, or matter that comes to the attention of a Participant that may evidence Corrupt Conduct under the Anti-Corruption Code by another Participant.
Meanwhile, Zoysa was last month banned for six years in a different case under the ICC Anti-Corruption code.
Zoysa was charged with:
Article 2.1.1 – Being party to an agreement to 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.
Article 2.4.6 – Failing or refusing, without compelling justification to cooperate with any investigation carried out by the ACU in relation to possible Corrupt Conduct under the Code