Former Sri Lankan domestic cricketer Saliya Saman has been handed a five-year ban from all forms of cricket after being found guilty of breaching the Emirates Cricket Board’s (ECB) anti-corruption code. The suspension, confirmed by an ICC anti-corruption tribunal, has been backdated to September 13, 2023, when Saman was provisionally suspended.
He was one of eight individuals associated with the Pune Devils franchise during the 2021 Abu Dhabi T10 tournament who faced charges for corrupt practices.
Tribunal Findings and Charges
The ICC tribunal, comprising Nigel Peters KC, Justice Zak Yacoob, and chairman Harish Salve KC, found that Saman attempted to recruit a player to engage in match-fixing during the Abu Dhabi T10 league.
Saliya Saman was found guilty of violating three key articles of the ECB anti-corruption code:
- Article 2.1.1 – being part of an attempt to fix or improperly influence matches.
- Article 2.1.3 – offering rewards to others in exchange for corrupt conduct.
- Article 2.1.4 – soliciting, inducing, or facilitating another participant to breach the code.
The tribunal stated:
“𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒆𝒗𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒊𝒔𝒉𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝑺𝒂𝒎𝒂𝒏 𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒍𝒚 𝒔𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒊𝒏𝒗𝒐𝒍𝒗𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒚𝒆𝒓, 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒎𝒊𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒉𝒊𝒎 𝒈𝒂𝒎𝒆 𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆 𝒊𝒏 𝒆𝒙𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒆 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒂𝒈𝒓𝒆𝒆𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒐 𝒇𝒊𝒙 𝒄𝒆𝒓𝒕𝒂𝒊𝒏 𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒔.”
Links to Other Corruption Cases
Saliya Saman’s case comes after Bangladesh all-rounder Nasir Hossain was banned for two years in January 2024 for similar offences during the same tournament. Hossain has since returned to competitive cricket in Bangladesh after serving his suspension.
“𝑴𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒈𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒐𝒇 𝒄𝒓𝒊𝒄𝒌𝒆𝒕 𝒊𝒔 𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒂𝒎𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒕, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚 𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒊𝒄𝒊𝒑𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝒉𝒂𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒅𝒖𝒕𝒚 𝒕𝒐 𝒖𝒑𝒉𝒐𝒍𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒑𝒊𝒓𝒊𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒈𝒂𝒎𝒆,” 𝒂𝒏 𝑰𝑪𝑪 𝒔𝒑𝒐𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒐𝒏 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅 𝒊𝒏 𝒂 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕.
Saliya Saman’s Career Background
The 39-year-old had a long domestic career, featuring in 101 first-class matches, 77 List A games, and 47 T20S. His last recognised appearance came during the SLC Twenty20 Tournament in March 2021.
With this ban, Saman joins a growing list of players punished for corrupt practices, as global cricket bodies continue their zero-tolerance stance against match-fixing.
Also Read: “Things Are Different Now” – Bhuvneshwar Kumar Opens Up on Bond with Virat Kohli Post IPL 2025 Win
