'I Am Lucky To Be Alive'

"There were people everywhere running and screaming. A lot of our cricketers’ families live there. I don’t know how they are. A lot of people are still missing," the spinner says. Among those injured are the mothers of Sanath Jayasuriya and Upul Chandana.

Test cricketer Jehan Mubarak also had a narrow escape. He recalls, "I was on holiday at the hsbc bungalow in Bentota with some of my friends. The first wave was not that ferocious or high; we managed to climb to the roof of the bungalow. We spent about 6 hours on the roof, and came down around 2 pm. We walked to the Ceysands Hotel and were later airlifted." The cricketer is also the national 50-metre butterfly stroke champion.