How can one fix a match & not be part of playing XI: Mahela Jayawardene

Colombo, June 20:  Former Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardene hit back at the country's former Sports Minister Mahindananda Aluthgamage after he clarified that he is not accusing any players involved in the 2011 World Cup final of match-fixing.

Aluthgamage, whose allegation earlier in the month led to the Sri Lankan Sports Ministry launching a probe into the statements, said that he is accusing the officials of selling the match. Jayawardene, who alongwith then captain Kumar Sangakkara slammed the statements on Twitter, said that he wonders how anybody can fix a match without playing it.

"When some one accuses that we sold the 2011 WC naturaly it's a big deal cus we don't know how one could fix a match and not be part of the playing 11? Hopefully we will get enlightened after 9 years..." Jayawardene tweeted in response to Aluthgamage's recent interview in which he asked why the former and Sangakkara are "making a big deal about this."

Aluthgamage said he had already complained to the International Cricket Council (ICC) in 2012 and demanded that an investigation be done on "how certain cricket officials" allegedly purchased car companies and started new businesses within a year of losing the match to India at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.

"Mahela has said that the circus has started. I don't understand why Sanga and Mahela are making a big deal about this. I am not referring to any of our players" he told the Daily Mirror Newspaper.