Former Indian U-19 Cricketer Manjot Kalra Arrested In Sri Lanka Over Match Fixing And Bribing
Manjot Kalra, a co-owner of the Lanka Premier League (LPL) team Jaffna Kings and a former India Under-19 World Cup winner, was detained by Sri Lanka Police for allegedly trying to manipulate a match.
Just hours before the 2026 LPL season’s first game, on Thursday night, the Special Investigation Unit (SIU) for the Prevention of Offences Relating to Sports made the arrest.
Kalra was allegedly trying to pay a player Rs. 9.5 million (about US$28,700) to sway a match’s outcome when he was arrested at a five-star hotel in Colombo, according to the police.
According to the police, the athlete reported the alleged approach for the first time about ten days ago, which prompted an investigation that resulted in the arrest. It is anticipated that Kalra would appear before the Colombo Magistrate’s Court. Alongside potential international talents like skipper Prithvi Shaw, Shubman Gill, Arshdeep Singh, and Shivam Mavi, Kalra was a member of India’s winning team at the 2018 ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup. He scored an undefeated century against Australia in the championship match, which was crucial to India’s victory. Prior to the 2026 LPL season, he was declared a member of the Jaffna Kings franchise’s ownership group.
The Lanka Premier League 2026 will start this evening at the SSC Grounds in Colombo as planned, Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) stated following the arrest.
SLC stated that if the SIU needed any help during the investigation, it would provide it with all of its cooperation. The league’s governing board reaffirmed its zero-tolerance stance for corruption, misconduct, and unethical behavior, emphasizing that it will not put up with bad behavior by any league stakeholder.
SLC further stated that in order to improve the tournament’s anti-corruption framework, its Anti-Corruption Unit has been collaborating closely with the SIU. In order to guarantee a fair, open, and corruption-free competition, it has also hired Integrity Mentors, an independent sports integrity organization, to offer expert assistance and instruction throughout.
The Prevention of Offences Relating to Sports Act of 2019, which makes match-fixing, spot-fixing, bribery, and other forms of sport manipulation illegal, gives Sri Lanka some of the strictest anti-corruption legislation in the world. Serious fines and jail sentences are possible outcomes of convictions.
The most recent arrest occurred months after Tamim Rahman, the owner of the Dambulla Thunders, was found guilty of organizing betting and trying to influence a player. He was fined Rs. 24 million and sentenced to four years in prison with a five-year suspension.
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