Sri Lankan cricketer withdraws from Windies tour after father's assassination

Ace Sri Lankan cricketer Dhananjaya de Silva has decided not to tour with the national side for their upcoming international assignment. Sri Lanka is set to play in Windies in the coming month with the first Test slated to commence in the first week of June. De Silva was named in the Sri Lankan squad owing to his excellent display of skill and temperament in the Test series against team India in the previous season.

He was tipped to be one of the main members of the Sri Lankan side on the tour and was expected to play a major role in the batting order. However, Dhananjaya de Silva has decided to skip the tour following personal issues. His father, Ranjan Silva, was gunned down by some unknown men recently. The brutal assassination of his father has sent shock waves in the country.

Dhananjaya rushed to the hospital

It is worth noting that Ranjan de Silva had recently contested the national elections in the country. In all likelihood, the reason behind his murder can be a political conflict or intent. The horrific and the brutal assassination took place just 12 hours before Dhananjaya de Silva was set to leave for the Caribbean with the national side. His father was shot in the Mount Lavinia area, which is a municipality in southern part of Colombo.

He was rushed to the hospital but was pronounced dead upon admission. He was taken to the Kalubowila hospital. Ranjan de Silva was not alone when the incident took place. He was accompanied by two other men as well. The other two men have also sustained injuries after the horrific incident. Dhananjaya rushed to the hospital too to see his father. Also, some of the other Sri Lankan cricketers arrived at the hospital to be with Dhananjaya.

Dhananjaya is one of the promising young batting talents of Sri Lanka. His temperament with the bat was at display during the Delhi Test against India when his century had ensured a draw for his side on a very tough tour.

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