Sri Lankan Cricketers Ask President Gotabaya Rajapaksa To Step Down Amid Crisis

Former Sri Lankan cricketers have voiced their support for the ongoing protests in Colombo against President Gotabaya Rajapaksa over the island nation’s worst economic crisis.

Former Sri Lankan skipper Sanath Jayasuriya tweeted, “In my entire life I have  never seen the country united like this with one goal to throw out a ‘failed’ leader. The writing is now on YOUR official house WALL. Please go in peace. #GoHomeGota today!”

“I always stand with the People of Sri Lanka. And will celebrate victory soon. This should be continue without any violation. #Gohomegota #අරගලයටජය,” he wrote on the micro-blogging platform.

Soon after Sanath Jayasuriya urged Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to resign, some of his other teammates also came out in support of the protestors.

Kumar Sangakkara took to his official Twitter account on July 9 to post a video of the Sri Lankan protests to express support for it, a post that his erstwhile teammate Mahela Jayawardene retweeted. Sangakkara’s remarks on social media came shortly after Sanath Jayasuriya posted demanding Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s resignation, stating that the writing was on the wall. While sharing the video, Sangakkara captioned the post, “This is for our future.”

Sri Lanka protests:

Dramatic visuals from outside Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s residence on Saturday depicted a sea of protestors storming into the compound of his official residence in Colombo, breaching the barricades.

Sri Lanka is hurtling towards bankruptcy and facing severe shortages of essentials such as fuel, food and medicines, forcing the people to queue up for the limited stocks. Which has outraged the people of Sri Lanka. The protests have also led to the resignation of prime minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, the president’s elder brother on May 9.