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New Delhi, 18 July 2026: An Indian cricketer has been arrested by the Sri Lankan Sports Anti-Corruption Unit. The cases relate to the Lanka Premier League (LPL), in which former India under-19 cricketer Manjot Kalra is co-owner of the ‘Jaffna Kings’ franchise. He was accused of launching a player. Manjot Kalra’s arrest comes shortly before the start of the next season of the Lanka Premier League; The LPL 2026 season starts today, July 17.

A special investigation unit was formed to curb sports crimes. Immediately Manjot was presented before the magistrate.

Sri Lankan police have said that 27-year-old Manjote had tried to rape a player about 10 days before the start of the ‘Lanka Premier League’ season. The player concerned had informed this matter to senior officials, due to which an investigation was conducted and the Indian cricketer was arrested on Friday.

Police had said that cricketers Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Avishka Fernando and Dunith Vellalaghe, who were part of the ‘Jaffna Kings’ team in the Lanka Premier League, had filed a complaint in this regard. This is not the first incident in which the image of the game of cricket has been tarnished due to the Lanka Premier League; Earlier this year, the owner of another franchise tried to involve a player in match-fixing, resulting in a four-year ban.

As far as Manjot Kalra is concerned, he has scored a century for Team India in the final of the Under-19 World Cup. He scored an unbeaten 101 runs against Australia in the final of the 2018 Under-19 World Cup. This was the same World Cup in which Shubhman Gill and Prithvi Sho also represented Team India.