My father liked to watch my matches with the fans: Dhananjaya reminisces

28 May 2018 09:31 am

Test cricketer Dhananjaya de Silva said that his father, who was gunned down, was the person that encouraged him and was most satisfied by the progress he had in his cricketing career. He said his father was an avid cricket fan who liked to view matches while sitting among fans.

"With the loss of my father, I feel like I have lost what I loved most in life," he said.

Dhananjaya's father, Dehiwala Mount Lavinia Municipal Council (DMMC) member K. Ranjan de Silva, was shot dead an unidentified group of persons who had arrived in a motor vehicle at his home in Ratmalana on Thursday (24) night. Police said Mr. de Silva had sustained 12 shots to the body fired by a T-56 machine gun.

Two other injured persons had been admitted to the South Colombo Teaching hospital but their condition was not serious according to Dr. Asela Gunawardene.

Unable to contain his grief at the sudden loss of his father, Dhananjaya said, "Whatever he did, my father gave priority to us, his three sons. He watched my matches with great pleasure. I was busy because I was getting ready for the West Indies tour. I met him only two days before his death. Upon hearing that my father was shot, I rushed to the hospital. By the time I got there he was no more", he cried.(Reka Tharangani Fonseka and H.M.Dharmapala)