Law & Justice
Sri Lanka court orders LPL team co-owner held in match-fixing case
A Sri Lankan court ordered Manjot Kalra, the Indian co-owner of a Lanka Premier League team, to be held in prison until the end of the month after he was charged with attempting to bribe five players for match-fixing.
Inspector Supun Vidanage of the Sports Investigation Unit said Kalra was arrested at a hotel in Colombo as he was allegedly about to pay a player 9.5 million rupees, equal to about $28,700. Vidanage said four other Sri Lankan players had also been approached by Kalra 10 days before his arrest.
An accomplice of Kalra will also remain in police custody until the end of the month while the investigation continues.
Sri Lanka Cricket said the domestic T20 tournament would proceed as planned on Friday night in Colombo. The opening match of the tournament's sixth edition is between the Jaffna and Galle teams. Kalra is a co-owner of the Jaffna team.
Sri Lanka Cricket said it was committed to protecting the tournament's integrity and would not tolerate corruption, misconduct or foul play by any stakeholder associated with the league.
Previous Lanka Premier League tournaments have also faced corruption allegations. Bangladesh-born Tamim Rahman, the owner of Dambulla Thunders, admitted in January to attempting to influence a player and organise match-fixing. He was sentenced to four years in prison, suspended for five years, and fined 24 million rupees. The conviction was made under a 2019 Sri Lankan law aimed at preventing corruption in sport.
Update
A Sri Lankan court ordered Manjot Kalra held in prison until the end of the month.
Kalra has been charged with attempting to bribe five players for match-fixing.
Police said he was allegedly about to pay a player 9.5 million rupees, or $28,700, when arrested.
Police said four other Sri Lankan players had been approached 10 days before the arrest.
An accomplice will remain in police custody until the end of the month pending further investigation.
The opening match is between the Jaffna and Galle teams, and Kalra is a co-owner of the Jaffna team.
The source adds context about a previous LPL corruption case involving Tamim Rahman.
Source note: AFP news report published on 17 July 2026 at 14:41:20 UTC.
Update
Inspector Supun Vidanage said Kalra was allegedly about to pay a player 9.5 million rupees, or $28,700, when he was arrested.
Vidanage said the player had alerted police after being approached about 10 days earlier.
Vidanage said two other players had also been approached.
Sri Lanka Cricket said the Lanka Premier League tournament would go ahead as planned on Friday night in Colombo.
The opening match was between the Jaffna and Galle teams, and Kalra is a co-owner of the Jaffna team.
Sri Lanka Cricket issued a statement saying it would not tolerate corruption, misconduct or foul play linked to the league.
The source notes that earlier LPL tournaments had also faced corruption allegations.
In January, a Sri Lankan court gave Dambulla Thunders owner Tamim Rahman a four-year suspended sentence and a 24 million rupee fine after he admitted attempting to influence a player and organise betting.
Source note: AFP news report published on 17 July 2026 at 09:09:42 UTC.
Uncertainty notes
The bribery and match-fixing allegations against Kalra have not been reported as proven in court.
The investigation into Kalra and the alleged accomplice is pending.
The players allegedly approached were not named in the source.
Source
AFP news report published on .