Sri Lankan authorities plan to arrest World Cup-winning cricket captain Arjuna Ranatunga on corruption charges related to his tenure as petroleum minister. This information was given to the court on Monday. According to the anti-corruption body, Ranatunga and his brother are accused of making immediate purchases at higher costs.

According to the commission set up to investigate allegations of bribery or corruption, the state suffered a total loss of 800 million Sri Lankan rupees (about Rs 23.5 crore) from 27 purchases made during the deals in 2017.

The commission told Colombo Magistrate Asanga Bodargama that Arjun was abroad and would be arrested upon his return.

The former minister’s elder brother Dhammika Ranatunga, who was then chairman of the state-owned Ceylon Petroleum Corporation, was arrested on Monday and later released on bail. The magistrate has imposed a travel ban on Dhammika. He holds dual citizenship of Sri Lanka and the United States. The next hearing is scheduled for March 13.

62-year-old left-handed batsman Arjun won the 1996 Cricket World Cup by defeating Australia, which was the biggest achievement in cricket for Sri Lanka.

The case against the Ranatunga brothers is part of a broader crackdown by the government of President Anura Kumara Dissanayake. Dissanayake came to power last year and promised to end corruption.

Another brother of the Ranatunga brothers, Prasanna, a former tourism minister, was arrested last month in an insurance fraud case. This case is still pending, but earlier in June 2022, he was convicted on charges of extortion from a businessman. He has been sentenced to two years of suspended imprisonment.

Sri Lanka cricket team will host Pakistan for a three-match T20 series in January before the T20 World Cup next year. The T20 World Cup is to be played between 7 February and 8 March, hosted by India and Sri Lanka. Before this, between January 7-11, both the countries will play 3 matches of T20 series.

Announcing the event on its Instagram, Sri Lanka Cricket said, “Pakistan national team will tour Sri Lanka to play a three-match T20 series in January 2026. All the matches will be held at the Rangiri Dambulla International Cricket Stadium in Dambulla.”

Meanwhile, a statement issued by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) said, “This tour will provide the team with an opportunity for valuable match practice before next year’s global event.”

The first match of the T20 series will be played between Sri Lanka and Pakistan in Dambulla on 7 January, after which the second match of the series will be held on 9 January. The third and final match is to be played on January 11. All three matches of the series will be played at the Rangiri Dambulla International Cricket Stadium in Dambulla.

Pakistan team will play all its matches of T20 World Cup 2026 in Sri Lanka. In such a situation, this bilateral series will give Pakistan an opportunity to familiarize itself with the situation in Sri Lanka. Recently Pakistan won the triangular series against Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka.

For the T20 World Cup 2026, 20 teams have been divided into four groups of 5 teams each. India and Pakistan are in Group-A. Teams from Netherlands, Namibia and America are also present along with them.

Schedule of T20 series between Sri Lanka and Pakistan:

1st T20: 7 January 2026, (Rangiri Dambulla International Cricket Stadium, Dambulla)

2nd T20: 9 January 2026, (Rangiri Dambulla International Cricket Stadium, Dambulla)

3rd T20: 11 January 2026, (Rangiri Dambulla International Cricket Stadium, Dambulla)

Pakistan had sent help to Sri Lanka to deal with Cyclone Ditvaah, but the expiry date on those food packets was October 2024. Pakistan had sent several packets including water, milk powder and flour. Pakistan High Commission Sri Lanka had shared a post related to this on Facebook on November 30, after which Pakistan started being criticized on social media. The expiry date is clearly visible written in the picture of the relief material.

There was a stir after the post of Pakistan High Commission

After this action of Pakistan on social media, users are criticizing it a lot. Sri Lanka is facing heavy floods due to Cyclone Ditvaha. The deaths of 390 people have been confirmed so far. Pakistan High Commission posted on Twitter, “Relief packages have been successfully delivered from Pakistan to assist our brothers and sisters affected by the recent floods in Sri Lanka, which is a symbol of our unwavering solidarity.”

‘Instead of throwing it in the garbage, sent it to Sri Lanka’

While sharing the pictures released by the Pakistan High Commission, a user wrote, “Pakistan chose to send spoiled food items to Sri Lanka instead of throwing them in the garbage.” Another user shared pictures of the packet of biscuits and said that these are biscuits made in Sri Lanka and not from Pakistan. He wrote, “These are Sri Lankan biscuits. These do not look like relief packages from Pakistan.”

Instead of disposing in garbage, Pakistan chose to send its expired food materials to flood hit Sri Lanka pic.twitter.com/nqpsukHRNv

— Rishi Bagree (@rishibagree) December 2, 2025

Another user wrote, “Pakistan is supplying expired food items. A country which is unable to feed its people is supplying expired food items to Sri Lanka as flood relief.” Many users have called Pakistan shameless for this act.

Pakistan Supplying Expired Food

A Country That Cannot Afford to Feed its Own People is supplying Food That Expired 1 Year and 1 Month ago as relief Material to Sri Lanka Floods https://t.co/P7tqssZ6rc pic.twitter.com/0ybRyUDupW

— INDIAN (@hindus47) December 2, 2025

India exposed Pakistan

India termed as fake the reports in Pakistani media which said that India did not allow Pakistan to fly over its airspace to send humanitarian aid to Sri Lanka. The official said that Pakistan had made an official request on Monday at around 1 pm (Indian time) seeking permission to fly over Indian airspace.

According to officials, since the request was to send humanitarian aid to Sri Lanka, India quickly approved it and informed Pakistan through official channels at 5:30 pm (Indian time) on Monday. After Operation Sindoor, India and Pakistan are not using each other’s airspace.

Floods and landslides caused by Cyclone Ditva in Sri Lanka have killed 132 people, 176 people are missing and 78 thousand have been displaced. Meanwhile, Pakistan sent humanitarian aid to Sri Lanka, which has become a cause of international controversy. The food items and medicines sent by Pakistan to help the people of Sri Lanka have expiry date 2024 written on them.

Sri Lankan officials said that Pakistan had sent medicines, food packets and some essential items for the flood victims, many of which had expired. Sri Lanka’s disaster management and foreign affairs departments have called it a matter of grave concern and have sought a formal explanation from Pakistan.

Cyclone Ditva wreaked havoc in Sri Lanka on November 28, in which 132 people died, 176 people went missing and 78 thousand people were displaced. Amidst this disaster, Pakistan, claiming brotherhood, announced immediate assistance and on 29 November, a Pakistani Navy ship reached Colombo port carrying several tons of relief material. This includes food packets, medicines, first aid kit, dry ration, tents and other essential items.

On November 30, the Embassy of Pakistan in Sri Lanka posted a post and wrote, ‘Relief packages from Pakistan were successfully delivered to the flood affected brothers and sisters of Sri Lanka. This is a symbol of our unbreakable unity. Pakistan always stands with Sri Lanka. When Sri Lankan officials examined the goods, many packets were found to have an expiry date of 2024. Medical supplies and food items were found spoiled. After the matter came to light, the Pakistan Embassy deleted the post.

Sri Lanka’s disaster management and foreign affairs departments have expressed serious concern over this. Officials have expressed their displeasure with Islamabad both formally and informally. Officials say that when the country is going through such a dire situation, this incident has raised doubts on Pakistan’s honesty and capability in sending relief material.

On the other hand, India has allowed Pakistan to use Indian airspace to send relief material to Sri Lanka. This is an important development between the two countries after Operation Sindoor. However, earlier Pakistani media had claimed that New Delhi had refused to allow Pakistani aircraft to enter its airspace, while Indian officials said that Pakistan’s request had been processed within a few hours.

According to officials, on the same day at around 1 pm on December 1, Pakistan had given a formal request to fly in Indian airspace and after four hours it was given clearance. He said that it was processed with a minimum notice period of 4 hours.

The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) issued a warning on Friday (28 November 2025) saying that cyclonic storm ‘Ditvah’ is active over the coastal areas of Sri Lanka and South-West Bay of Bengal. The storm has moved in the north and north-west direction at a speed of 10 km per hour in the last 6 hours.

• The center of the storm was located 50 km south of Trincomalee, 70 km north-west of Batticaloa and 220 km north of Hambantota, while it was located 460 km south-east of Puducherry, India and 560 km south-east of Chennai.
• The Meteorological Department said that the storm is moving rapidly and will reach the Bay of Bengal near the coastal areas of North Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and South Andhra Pradesh by the morning of 30 November. IMD has issued warning of danger of rain and wind for many states.
• Heavy to extremely heavy rain is forecast in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry on Friday and Saturday, while some places may receive more than 20 cm of rain. Rain is likely to reduce slightly on November 30, but heavy rainfall may also occur at some places.
• Rain may start in South Coastal Andhra Pradesh and Rayalaseema from Friday. Here, heavy rains may continue on 29th to 30th November and heavy rains may also continue on 1st to 2nd December respectively.
• There is a possibility of heavy rain in Kerala and Lakshadweep region also. There are chances of heavy rain in Telangana on 30 November and 1 December.
• Due to the impact of the storm, there is a possibility of wind speed of 60-100 km per hour in various coastal areas. Gale-force winds will blow on South Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, Sri Lanka and South Andhra coasts.
• IMD has completely banned sea fishing till December 1. Boats already in the sea have been advised to immediately move to safe places. People have been advised to stay safe in their homes.

For the past several days, news of action against Sri Lankan captain Charith Asalanka has been in the news. It is being claimed in many reports that due to the cancellation of the Tri-series in Pakistan, Sri Lanka Cricket Board may take action against him and his captaincy may be snatched away. Meanwhile, Chief Selector of Sri Lanka Cricket Team Upul Tharanga has made everything clear.

According to Upul Tharanga, despite Charith Asalanka’s poor performance and his early withdrawal from the ongoing tri-series in Pakistan, no such decision has been taken, due to which rumors are flying about his future. Tharanga said that after Asalanka’s return during the tri-series against Pakistan last week, the discussion regarding the new captain has not started. He told that former Sri Lankan white-ball captain Dasun Shanaka was deliberately appointed as the vice-captain of the tour, so that the team could get another option.

Upul Tharanga told ESPNcricinfo, “We have to think about our best option after this series. With the World Cup being so close, we cannot make big changes. The selectors will have to decide after talking to the coach what is best for the team.”

He further said, “Charith is a very talented cricketer who has a lot of experience. I am sure he will be an important player for Sri Lanka in the T20 World Cup. We have seen what he can do in the middle order, where at times he has single-handedly won matches. He is in our World Cup plans.”

The Chief Selector further said, “Charith is still our captain. Due to Charith’s illness, we have made Dasun our stand-in captain. Charith is still the captain in our plans. We have not taken any decision to replace him. We have planned from the beginning to make Charith the captain in this World Cup. Let’s see what happens next. We have not taken any decision in this regard yet. Charith has not been able to score runs in T20 and unfortunately Due to illness he had to return home.”

Sri Lanka won the fifth match of the triangular T20 Series 2025 played against Zimbabwe at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium by 9 wickets. This was Sri Lanka’s first win in the series. Earlier, it had to face defeat at the hands of Zimbabwe and Pakistan.

After winning the toss and choosing to bat, Zimbabwe scored 146 runs after losing 5 wickets in the stipulated overs. Zimbabwe had a very bad start. This team had lost its 2 wickets for just 17 runs. From here Brian Bennett along with Brendan Taylor scored 36 runs for the third wicket. Taylor returned to the pavilion after scoring 14 runs in 16 balls.

From here Brian Bennett made a partnership of 36 runs in 29 balls for the fourth wicket with captain Sikandar Raza. This partnership took the team to the score of 89. Opener Bennett was out after scoring 34 runs in 26 balls with 1 six and 4 fours, while captain Raza played an inning of 37 runs in 29 balls. Apart from him, Ryan Burl also added the same number of runs to the team’s account.

From the opposition team, Wanindu Hasaranga and Mahesh Dikshana took 2-2 wickets. Apart from these, captain Shanaka took 1 wicket.

In response, Sri Lanka registered victory in just 16.2 overs. The opening pair of Pathum Nissanka and Kamil Misara gave a great start to this team. Both players added 59 runs to the team’s account in 5.4 overs. Kamil returned to the pavilion after scoring 12 runs.

From here, Nissanka along with Kusal Mendis added 89 runs in 64 balls for the second wicket and gave the team an easy victory. Nissanka scored unbeaten 98 runs in 58 balls with 4 sixes and 11 fours, while Mendis contributed 25 runs to the team’s account. Brad Evans took the only wicket for Zimbabwe.

The second ODI of the 3-match ODI series between Pakistan and Sri Lanka has been cancelled. The reason for this is the explosion in the capital Islamabad in which 12 people died and many were injured. The Sri Lankan team is in panic after the bomb blast. Eight Sri Lankan players decided to return home on Thursday due to security concerns. The second ODI of the series to be held in Rawalpindi on Thursday has been cancelled.

According to Sri Lanka Cricket Board sources, “Given the proximity of Rawalpindi and Islamabad, the players expressed concern about their safety and expressed their desire to return. In place of the players returning home, other players will be sent to Pakistan, so that the remaining matches of the series can be played.”

The attack on Sri Lankan cricket team in Islamabad has reminded the terrorist incident of 2009. In 2009, the Sri Lankan team bus was attacked by terrorists outside the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore. Many players like captain Mahela Jayawardene, Ajantha Mendis and Chaminda Vaas were injured in that attack, while many Pakistani security personnel were killed. Pakistan cricket was devastated after that terrorist attack. No foreign team toured Pakistan for the next 10 years. Pakistan used to play its matches in UAE. In 2019, Sri Lanka had once again opened the way for foreign teams by visiting Pakistan for the first time, but the latest attack has once again raised questions on organizing international cricket in Pakistan.

The triangular T20 series is to be played after the ongoing 3 ODI series between Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Apart from Sri Lanka and Pakistan, the third team in the T20 series is Zimbabwe. After the Islamabad attack, the risk of cancellation of the triangular T20 series has increased.

Terrorist Attack in Islamabad: After the recent terrorist attack in Pakistan, the security of the Sri Lankan cricket team visiting this country has been increased. Sources said that Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Mohsin Naqvi met the Sri Lankan team officials and assured them of complete security. Naqvi is also the Home Minister of Pakistan. Pakistan has once again indirectly accused the Taliban government of Afghanistan of allowing Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) to use its land to carry out terrorist attacks in Pakistan.

terrorist attack in pakistan

On Tuesday, a suicide bomber blew himself up outside a judicial complex in Islamabad, killing 12 people and injuring many. Meanwhile, the terrorist attack on Wana Cadet College in Wana area of ​​northern Pakistan was foiled by security forces and about 300 students were evacuated safely. Pakistan’s Information Minister Ata Tarar said that if the security forces had not taken immediate action, Pakistan could have witnessed a major incident like the Peshawar school attack in 2018.

Fear of terrorist attack on Sri Lankan

Three years ago, the New Zealand team had canceled the limited overs series against Pakistan. The New Zealand team then returned to their country without playing any match after receiving information about a possible terrorist attack. “That is why Mohsin Naqvi personally visited the stadium and met the visiting team members and assured them about security,” the source said. In March 2009, TTP terrorists attacked the Sri Lankan team bus near Gaddafi Stadium, due to which international cricket matches were not held in Pakistan for almost 10 years as foreign teams refused to tour the country due to security concerns.

Security of Sri Lankan team increased

“The security of the Sri Lankan team has been beefed up and Pakistani Army and paramilitary Rangers have been deployed to keep an eye on the security of the visiting players and officials,” the source said. After playing three ODIs in Rawalpindi, Sri Lanka will participate in the T20 tri-series from November 17 to 29 in which the third team will be Zimbabwe.