*COLOMBO – The father of Sri Lankan cricket allrounder Dhananjaya de Silvawas shot dead by unidentified gunmen on the eve of the national team’sdeparture to the West Indies on Friday, police said.*——————————

The player’s father Ranjan, a local politician, was gunned down inRatmalana, a suburb of the capital Colombo, close to midnight on Thursday,police said. An investigation is underway but no arrests have been made.

Cricket officials said 26-year-old de Silva withdrew from the tour thatinvolves three Test matches. However, there was no official word from thecricket board on who will replace de Silva.

Sri Lanka will also miss opener Dimuth Karunaratne who fractured a fingerwhile batting in the nets earlier this month as he prepared for alimited-overs domestic tournament. – APP/ AFP