Dhananjaya de Silva withdraws from West Indies tour
Dhananjaya de Silva, the Sri Lanka all-rounder, has pulled out of the side’s tour of the Caribbean after a personal loss.
De Silva’s father, Ranjan, a local politician, was gunned down in a suburb south of Colombo late on Thursday 24 May, reports said. Investigations are on.
The Sri Lankan team is set to leave on Friday for their tour of three Tests, including a day-night game in Barbados, against the Windies.
The first Test begins on June 6 in Port of Spain.
Sri Lanka Cricket expresses its sincere condolences on the tragic demise of Mr.Ranjan De Silva, father of the national cricketer Dhananjaya De Silva. pic.twitter.com/YM4d0OSyS2
— Sri Lanka Cricket 🇱🇰 (@OfficialSLC) May 25, 2018
De Silva, 26, has played 13 Tests, scoring 1066 runs at 46.34. Making a return to the Test side last year after a poor series in South Africa in 2016-2017, he found form with a century against India in Delhi under difficult conditions and followed it up with a 173 in a high-scoring first Test against Bangladesh earlier this year.
"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," said Thilanga Sumathipala, the SLC president.
The board is yet to announce a replacement.