Dhananjaya pulls out from Sri Lanka squad after father's death
Dhananjaya de Silva has withdrawn from the 17-man squad ahead of Sri Lanka’s tour to West Indies after his father was shot dead on Thursday (May 24), just hours before the squad’s scheduled departure for the Caribbean islands.
Dhananjaya’s father, Ranjan de Silva, had contested in local government elections in February and was elected the Councilor in the Dehiwala-Mt. Lavinia City Council. Sri Lankan police confirmed that he was gunned down in the Mount Lavinia at around 8:30 pm (local time) and the gunmen are yet to be identified.
Dhananjaya was having a great run at the Lankan team scoring back-to-back centuries against India and Bangladesh in Tests. Many of his national teammates rushed to the Kalubowila Hospital, where the cricketer’s father had been taken.
The 26-year-old has played a total of 37 international match for Sri Lanka. A replacement for him in the squad could be named soon by the Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC).
The squad was announced on May 11 and three uncapped players were named in it. Angelo Mathews and Suranga Lakmal were also named in the squad after recovering from their injuries.
