One of the Indian co-owners of the Jaffna Kings franchise and another Indian national have been arrested over alleged match-fixing, just hours before the 2026 Lanka Premier League (LPL) was due to begin.
The Special Investigation Unit for the Prevention of Offences Related to Sports took the pair into custody following an investigation into attempts to corrupt the tournament. The co-owner has been identified in cricket media as Manjot Kalra, a former India Under-19 batter who scored a century in India’s 2018 Under-19 World Cup final win over Australia. Kalra and Mayank Goel, operating through Sports Commune, acquired the Jaffna Kings ahead of this season.
According to reports, investigators moved in as the suspect was allegedly preparing to pay a player 9.5 million rupees. The player is said to have alerted authorities around ten days earlier, when he was first approached. Police believe the accused sought to involve three cricketers who have represented Sri Lanka at international level, both current and former players.
Despite the arrest, Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) confirmed that the 2026 LPL would proceed as scheduled, with the opening fixtures going ahead as planned. The tournament falls under the Prevention of Offences Related to Sports Act, under which match-fixing and related corruption are criminal offences in Sri Lanka.
Update (July 19): The Colombo Magistrate’s Court has remanded Kalra until July 31, ESPNcricinfo reported, with Sri Lankan police confirming the order following his July 16 arrest. Investigators told the court that Kalra had allegedly approached three Jaffna Kings players — Bhanuka Rajapaksa and Sri Lanka internationals Dunith Wellalage and Avishka Fernando — offering them more than US$30,000 to influence match outcomes, and that they held recorded phone conversations and video evidence. The players are said to have alerted the Special Investigations Unit for the Prevention of Offences Relating to Sports, which then directed a negotiated approach to gather evidence. Kalra has denied the allegations.
Update (July 27): The Colombo Chief Magistrate’s Court has refused bail to Kalra and a second Indian national, Yuvraj Pushpa, PTI reported. The pair, remanded on July 17 until July 31, had sought early release before Chief Magistrate Asanga S. Bodaragama, with counsel K.W.S. Fernando arguing that both accused were unwell. Prosecutors opposed the application on the grounds that the Special Investigation Unit for the Prevention of Offences Relating to Sports was still investigating. The magistrate rejected the application and allowed the remand order to continue.
The court was also told that two additional local players have joined the original complaint lodged by Sri Lanka internationals Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Avishka Fernando and Dunith Wellalage. The 2026 Lanka Premier League, featuring five franchises and 24 matches, runs from July 17 to August 8.
The case marks one of the most high-profile corruption arrests in the LPL’s history, coming at the very start of a new season and involving a franchise owner rather than a player or official.
