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Pramodya Wickramasinghe played 40 Tests and 132 one-day internationals for Sri Lanka between 1990 and 2002

A corruption investigation has been started into the Sri Lanka team after allegations were made by an ex-player.

Pramodya Wickramasinghe, 46, accused the national side of "unnatural match patterns" and player selections.

"There is currently an ICC (anti-corruption unit) investigation under way in Sri Lanka," the International Cricket Council said.

A Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) statement said current players refuted Wickramasinghe's claims as "baseless".

The statement added the players regarded the comments as "disparaging and hurtful".

The ICC's statement came a day after SLC said 40 contracted Sri Lanka players, including captains Dinesh Chandimal and Upul Tharanga, signed a petition to SLC calling for an immediate inquiry into Wickramasinghe's "shocking" allegations.

A pace bowler and former national selector who was part of the Sri Lanka's 1996 World Cup-winning team, Wickramasinghe made the comments in a television interview, blaming the current management for the team's poor performance.