Dhananjaya de Silva to join Sri Lanka squad in West Indies following father’s funeral

Sri Lanka’s Dhananjaya de Silva is ready to join the team in West Indies, just 12 days after his father was shot dead in Colombo.

According to ESPNCricinfo, de Silva, who had earlier pulled out of the tour because of personal tragedy, has changed his decision and wants to return to cricket.

However, the 26-year-old, who will be reaching the Caribbean Islands after travelling for more than 30 hours on Monday, is unlikely to feature in Sri Lanka’s playing XI for the first Test that begins at Port of Spain, Trinidad on Wednesday. He is likely to be back in the side for the second Test in St Lucia. The third and final Test of the series will be played in Barbados.

Dhananjaya de Silva’s father, who was an elected councillor at the Dehiwala-Mt Lavinia Municipal Council, was murdered just outside his home in Colombo on May 23 – a day before the young batsman had to leave for the tour.

Sri Lanka Cricket has been very supportive of de Silva, saying the batsman can return to the side whenever he wants.

Dhananjaya de Silva, who made his Test debut against Australia at Pallekele in July 2016, has established himself as Sri Lanka’s No 3 batsman. In 13 Tests so far, he has amassed 1066 runs at an impressive average of 46.34. He has scored four centuries so far.