Sumathipala denies betting on IPL

Former chairman of the Sri Lankan cricket board T Sumathipala on Monday rejected Arjuna Ranatunga's allegations that he was involved in placing bets on Indian Premier League matches and threatened to sue the World Cup winning ex-captain.

Reacting to reports quoting Ranatunga, Sumathipala said contrary to the allegations, he has been working against illegal bookmakers.

"I'm one person who is fighting against illegal bookmakers. If Arjuna has said this, I will sue him and I will take him on because that man and Arvinda de Silva's name was categorically mentioned in the CBI report during the Hansie Cronje episode," Sumathipala said.

"He was among the six people named by the CBI. So, he is trying to save his face now," he added.

Ranatunga and de Silva were accused of being involved in fixing 1994 Test against India but they were cleared of the charges by the International Cricket Council.

Indian bookmaker Mukesh Gupta had claimed that Ranatunga, then the Sri Lankan captain, had agreed to play badly in the Test against India at Lucknow in 1994 and De Silva had received £10,000 after the game.

However, Desmond Fernando, appointed by the Sri Lankan board to investigate the allegation, recommended that no action be taken in a report which concluded that the evidence against the players was "inadequate and untested".