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Hashan should prove match-fixing claims: Muralitharan

May 03, 2011 16:38 IST

Retired Sri Lankan spin wizard Muttiah Muralitharan feels his former teammate Hashan Tillakaratne should either furnish proof of match-fixing by the country's cricketers or stop making such allegations.

"I don't know why he has said this. If somebody is making such claims, he should first give enough proof to support them otherwise someone can sue him," Muralitharan told PTI Bhasha.

- Coverage: The Match-Fixing Episode II

Tillakaratne, in a television chat show last week, said match-fixing existed in Sri Lankan cricket since 1992 and he would reveal the names of those involved in it soon. He also expressed reservations about the team selection for the 2011 World Cup.

He, however, refuses to divulge the names of those involved, saying he will make the revelations only to the ICC.

Asked whether he was ever approached by a bookie during his 18-year career, Muralitharan replied in the negative.

"In any case I will tell this to ICC's anti-corruption unit only. There is a code and all the players follow that," said the veteran, who plays for IPL debutant Kochi Tuskars Kerala.

He also rejected suggestions that Tillakaratne's allegations have tarnished the image of Sri Lankan cricket.

"Hashan has made allegations and only he is answerable for that. I don't know what to say. These are mere allegations which have not been proved yet," he said.

The highest wicket-taker in both Tests (800) and ODIs (519), Muralitharan retired from Tests in 2010. He played in four World Cup tournaments -- 1996, 1999, 2003, 2007 and 2011.

He was part of Sri Lanka's team that lost to India in the 2011 World Cup final on April 2.

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