Sri Lankan cricketer Dhananjaya de Silva withdrew from the upcoming tour to West Indies on Thursday after his father was shot dead by unidentified gunmen. 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 works as a local politician, was gunned down in Ratmalana, a suburb in the capital city of Colombo, around midnight yesterday, police said. The police 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 Speaking about Dhanjaya's involvement in the series, the cricket officials said that the 26-year-old has withdrawn from the tour. "We are extremely shocked, perturbed and saddened by the great loss suffered by Dhananjaya and his family," Sri Lankan Cricket Board president Thilanga Sumathipala said in a statement. "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." A board official further told news agency AFP that there will be no replacement for Dhanjaya de Silva in the squad. "There will be no replacement for Dhananjaya. Instead of a 17-member squad, we will now have 16," he said. The side will also be missing the opening batsman Dimuth Karunaratne who fractured a finger while batting in the nets earlier this month while preparing for a limited-overs domestic tournament. Sri Lanka are scheduled to play a three-Test match series against West Indies starting from June 6. The two teams will also be playing a 3-day warm-up game from June 1. The right-arm batsman has played 13 Tests for Sri Lanka. He made a return to the side during the third Test against India at Feroz Shaha Kotla in New Delhi in December 2017, in which he scored an unbeaten ton to save the visitors from an innings defeat. De Silva also scored a century in February against Bangladesh.
