With Sri Lanka deep in economic and political crisis, legendary cricketers Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene have expressed their solidarity with the people and spoken out against the government. The former captains of the Sri Lankan national cricket team took to social media platforms and shared their anguish. (More Cricket News)
Sri Lanka, a country of 2.19 crores, is crippled by record inflation and is enduring severe shortages of food, fuel and other essentials, which has forced people on the streets to protest against skyrocketing prices. Sri Lanakan have called for the resignation of President Gotabaya Rakapaksa.
"Sri Lankans are going through one of the toughest times imaginable. It is heartbreaking to see the despair of people and families as they struggle to make it through the day; and each day for them gets harder," Sangakkara wrote in a lengthy Instagram post.
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Sangakkara, along with Jayawardene are some of the Sri Lankans currently in India for the IPL 2022, which started on March 26.
"The people are raising their voices and asking for what is needed: a solution. While some are reacting in resentment and anger to that voice, others are trying to take an undue advantage of it. The right choice is to listen to the people, put aside destructive personal and political agendas and act in the best interests of Sri Lanka," the message from the former president of Marylebone Cricket Club continued.
Regarded as one of the all-time batting greats, Sangakkara is a widely respected figure. He is only behind India great Sachin Tendulkar in the list of most international runs.
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"The people are not enemy. Sri Lanka is its people. Time is running out fast, the people and their future must be protected and provided for," Sangakkara, who is currently with IPL franchise Rajasthan Royals as their mentor, added.
Jayawardene, another batting great, wrote in a Twitter post:
"I'm sad to see emergency law and curfew in Sri Lanka. The government cannot ignore the needs of the people who have every right to protest. Detaining people who do is not acceptable and I am very proud of the brave Sri Lankan lawyers who rushed to their defence.
"True leaders own up to mistakes. There is massive urgency here to protect the people of our country, united in their suffering. These problems are man-made and can be fixed by the right, qualified people. Certain people controlling the economy of this country have lost the people's confidence and must stand down. We then need a good team to give the country confidence and belief."
Jayawardene is the head coach of Mumbai Indians.
Punjab Kings batter Bhanuka Rajapaksa also slammed the Sri Lankan government for suppressing the "fundamental rights" of the citizens, and wrote:
"Even though I am many miles away, I can feel the anguish of my fellow Sri Lankans as they struggle to make it through each day.
"Now they have found their most fundamental rights suppressed, in an effort to quell their voices. But when 22 million voices rise as one, it cannot be ignored."
Their former teammate Roshan Mahanama, who took to the streets and joined the protests, wrote:
"Today I joined a protest in my neighbourhood as I see it as my duty to show my support towards the innocent people of our motherland, who are on a path to fight against the power hungry leaders of our country."
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Anger against the government spiralled into violence on Thursday with hundreds of protesters clashing with police for several hours.
And on Sunday, Sri Lankan cabinet resigned en masse from their positions.
