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Former India Under-19 player Manjot Kalra, who is alleged to have influenced the matches in Sri Lanka's Lanka Premier League 2026 (LPL 2026) season, has released an official statement regarding the accusations against him, for which police took him into custody and produced him before the Magistrate's Court in Colombo.
In an official statement released on July 19, Manjot Kalra denied all of the allegations against him. The co-owner of the LPL franchise, Jaffna Kings, stated that he is fully cooperating in the investigation process and believes all of the facts and information will prove his innocence in the matter.
Accused Manjot Kalra denies all allegations against him
The statement also confirms that a team of experts is taking care of all the legal proceedings to ensure that all possible steps are taken to protect Kalra.
"As the matter is currently under investigation, Mr. Kalra will continue to cooperate fully with the authorities and will refrain from making any further comments at this stage. He remains confident that the truth will prevail," the recently published official statement reads.
"Senior Counsel Mr K Wasantha S Fernando, Attorney at Law and his able team of Junior Attorneys at Law are currently taking care of his interest and have expressed the confidence in disproving and negating the allegations leveled against Mr Kalra and will ensure all possible steps are taken within the provisions of law to bring all perpetrators involved in fixing Mr Kalra into this undesired situation to light while assisting law enforcement officers and Honorable Court to arrive at Justice in the right manner," the statement further reads.
The detail back story related to Manjot Kalra and the Lankan Premier League franchise Jaffna Kings
The news of Kalra's arrest made headlines on Friday, after the 2026 season opener of the Lankan Premier League. The first match of LPL 2026 was between Kalra's Jaffa Kings and Galle Gallants. Kings lost the match by 36 runs.
It is claimed that Manjot Kalra, the co-owner of the Jaffa Kings, had tried to influence some of his own team's players with money. According to the media reports, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Sri Lanka national players Dunith Wellalage and Avishka Fernando, were the players who were participating in the league, were approached by Kalra.
Interestingly, all of these cricketers are registered players of the Jaffna Kings. It is alleged that, by offering hefty money to the players, the former India Under-19 player tried to influence the result of the match.
Court denies Manjot Kalra's bail
Investigators mentioned that Manjor Kalra offered over USD 30,000 to influence the outcome of games. The investigators also claimed that they have enough information and proof in hand which will prove the allegations.
Manjot Kalra's defence counsel, however, denied all of the allegations and stated that there was no proper evidence that could prove Kalra had bad intentions. The defence counsel sought bail, but the court refused to do so, citing that bail could influence the investigation process.
Sri Lanka police confirms that Kalra will be in remand until July 31 accroding to the court order.
