Sri Lanka’s first Test cricket captain Bandula Warnapura passed away

Sri Lanka’s first Test cricket captain Bandula Warnapura passed away while receiving treatment at a private hospital.

Warnapura recently had his right leg amputated in a diabetes related ailment.

The 68-year old former cricketer was initially in the intensive care unit of the Nawaloka Hospital in Colombo after he was diagnosed with high sugar levels hindering blood circulation that warranted an amputation of his right leg.

He was later reported to be in a stable condition but passed away today.

Warnapura captained Sri Lanka in the inaugural Test against England at the P Sara Oval in Colombo in 1982 and went on to play in three more Tests and 12 ODIs before his career was cut short following an unsanctioned tour of once apartheid South Africa he made with several other Sri Lankan players.

He got back into cricket as an administrator in 1991 at his Bloomfield club. (Colombo Gazette)