Dhananjaya de Silva
Credits: AP

In an unfortunate situation, Dhananjaya de Silva has withdrawn from Sri Lanka’s upcoming tour of West Indies after his father Ranjan de Silva was brutally murdered.

The shocking incident took place less than 12 hours before the Sri Lankan team boarded the flight to Dubai. From there, they boarded for the Carribean Islands. De Silva’s father was gunned down in the Mount Lavinia, a municipality south of Colombo. He was taken to hospital but was pronounced dead upon admission to the Kalubowila Hospital. There were two others with him but they managed to escape any fatal injuries. De Silva had recently contested in the local government elections.

The latest turn of events would be a big blow for de Silva who was well on his way to cementing his place in the Test team. He had made a comeback during the Delhi Test match against India last year. In the second innings, he had scored an unbeaten hundred, helping the Islanders to salvage a morale-boosting draw. So far, he has played 13 Tests, scoring 1,006 runs with the help of 4 fifties and 2 tons.

Dhananjaya de Silva Pulls Out Of West Indies Tour After Father's Murder
Credits: AFP

Sri Lanka eye history:

Meanwhile, Dinesh Chandimal & Co. will be looking to register their maiden Test series win in West Indies. They were quite close to doing so on their last tour a decade ago when they won the first Test which was Sri Lanka’s maiden Test win in the Caribbean. However, the hosts won the second Test to draw the two-Test series one-all.

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Dhananjaya de Silva Pulls Out Of West Indies Tour After Father's Murder
Credits: AP

Not only history but experience is also against the Islanders. Apart from veteran spinner Rangana Herath (who played one Test in the West Indies in 2008), no member of the team has played a Test in the Caribbean.

The three-match Test series gets underway on June 6 at Port-of-Spain. The second Test will be played at St Lucia’s from June 14-18 and the third and final (a day-night affair) at Barbados from June 23-27.

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