Dambulla fixing; mystery deepens

Daily Mirror has obtained an exclusive copy of a letter which was written by Sri Lanka Cricket’s then security consultant Major General Lawrence Fernando to the manager of the visiting Indian cricket team in 2010 which claims that not only had one player entertained a female guest for an entire night in his room, but another player had also entertained a male guest in his room for a night while staying at a hotel in Dambulla.

Justice Mukul Mudgal, the Indian Supreme Court-appointed inquiry commissioner looking into allegations of fixing in Indian cricket, investigated into the incident at Dambulla after the Sunday Times of London named the player as Suresh Raina, who had entertained the woman in his room during the 2010 Asia Cup tournament.

After the report in the London Sunday Times the Lankan board raised the matter with the BCCI, the Indian officials denied there was any such complaint and claimed that the woman was Raina`s agent.

Subsequently, Raina`s then agent Bunty Sajdeh of Cornerstone Sports and Entertainment Private Limited (CSE) revealed that it was his cousin Ritika, a CSE employee, who was in Raina`s room and that she was there in connection with some of the batsman`s endorsements.

However, the letter written by Fernando now shows that there had been another incident of a similar nature during the tournament.

Fernando had warned Indian team manager Ranjib Biswal, for allowing two guests to stay with two different players in their rooms.

“On your request I informed the Ministerial Security Division officer who was in charge of the floor security of the Indian player’s room area to allow a female guest who was supposed to be a journalist to enter into an Indian Player’s room (name withheld) to interview him in the evening on 18th June 2010 at Kandalama Hotel, Dambulla. You were also informed that the female guest can be there in the player’s room only till 2000hrs for which you agreed,” the letter (a copy exclusively obtained by us) written by Fernando to the then team manger, says.

“After 2000hrs. officer of the MSD had brought this to your notice time to time that the lady guest of the player has not left. After sometime you had left your phone unanswered without informing the female guest to leave and she had remained there till morning 19th June 2010”.

“Further to that it was informed to me by MSD officer, that male guest of another player too was allowed by you to be accommodated in his room at Kandalama Hotel in the night of 18th June 2010 without informing me,” Fernando said in his letter.

These two incidents had already been intimated to the ICC’s Anti Corruption and Security Unit by Fernando.

“Please note that if you continue to permit unauthorized activities without prior approval which may cause breach of security and for any unfortunate incident, Sri Lanka Cricket or the security establishments should not be held responsible”, the letter said in its concluding remarks. (Bipin Dani)