On Thursday, the father of the Sri Lankan cricketer Dhananjaya de Silva was shot dead by some unidentified gunmen and as result of that, the cricketer decided to withdraw himself from the upcoming tour to Windies. According to the police, the shooting took place on the evening of the team’s departure to the West Indies for a three-match Test series.
According to a report by news agency AFP, the police added that Silva’s father Ranjan, who was a local politician, was murdered in Ratmalana, a suburb in the capital city of Colombo, around midnight on Thursday. The police further added that they are carrying out an investigation into the incident, but so far no arrests have been made.
Speaking about Dhanjaya’s involvement in the series, the Sri Lanka cricket officials said that the cricketer has withdrawn from the tour. In a statement released by the board, Sri Lankan Cricket Board president Thilanga Sumathipala said, “We are extremely shocked, perturbed and saddened by the great loss suffered by Dhananjaya and his family. Sri Lanka Cricket will take every measure to support Dhananjaya at this time of sorrow and grief for him and his family while giving him time to overcome the great pain and suffering caused by this tragedy.”
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The reports of AFP further suggested that there will be no replacement for Dhanjaya de Silva in the squad. The official said, “There will be no replacement for Dhananjaya. Instead of a 17-member squad, we will now have 16.” The Islanders will also be missing the services of the opening batsman Dimuth Karunaratne who fractured a finger while batting in the nets earlier this month.
Sri Lanka is scheduled to play a three-match Test series against the Windies starting from June 6. The two teams will also be playing a 3-day warm-up game from June 1.
De Silva has played 13 Tests for Sri Lanka. He made a comeback to the national squad during the third Test against India at Feroz Shaha Kotla in New Delhi in December 2017, in which he scored an unbeaten century to save the visitors from an innings defeat. He also scored a hundred in February against Bangladesh.
