ICC charges analyst Sanath Jayasundara for trying to bribe Sri Lanka minister

Colombo: The International Cricket Council (ICC) said Saturday it has charged a Sri Lankan team advisor with trying to bribe the country´s sports minister to influence an international match.

The move against Sanath Jayasundara, a performance analyst for the national team, came after minister Harin Fernando said in January that a Sri Lanka Cricket employee had offered him inducements to change the national squad.

"Recently someone tried to bribe me as well," Fernando said, without naming who approached him. "I was offered a bribe to get some players into the team. I reported the incident to the ICC."

Cricket´s world body said Jayasundara had two weeks to respond to two charges brought against him.

He was accused of "offering a bribe or other reward to the Sri Lankan sports minister to contrive in any way or otherwise influence improperly the result, progress, conduct or any other aspect of an international match."

On Friday, two former Sri Lankan Test players, Nuwan Zoysa and Avishka Gunawardene, were charged with match-fixing and given two weeks to respond.

The charges against the two relate to a T10 league played in the United Arab Emirates in December, the ICC said.

Sr Lanka has been hit with a series of match-fixing controversies in recent months.

In February, the ICC banned former skipper and ex-chief selector Sanath Jayasuriya from the game for two years for failing to cooperate with an anti-corruption investigation.

Last month, ex-Sri Lanka fast bowler Dilhara Lokuhettige was suspended over three match corruption accusations.

And last year, a match-fixing controversy blew up over a sting operation carried out for a TV documentary.

Fernando said in December the country had been rated as the most corrupt cricket nation by the ICC.