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The first Test captain of Sri Lanka Bandula Warnapura, 68, died of a heart attack after undergoing a leg amputation for complications arising from diabetes, people close to him told AFP.
Warnapura came to Bangladesh in 1978 as the vice-captain of the Sri Lanka national team, which was the first tour for any national team in the country.
Raqibul, who was the captain of the Bangladesh side at that time, could not believe that Warnapura is no more, “Very shocking, he was a good friend of mine. During the late seventies and eighties, he was one of the key batsmen for Sri Lanka. Warnapura, Ranjit Fernando, Sidath Wettimuny were the great batsmen from Sri Lanka and he was the greatest among the greats”, Raqibul told The Business Post.
Warnapura scored centuries in all the three three-day matches Sri Lanka played against Bangladesh; taking place at Dhaka, Rajshahi, and Chattogram.
His innings were 116, 167*, and 105.
Warnapura played only four Tests for Sri Lanka and 12 One-day internationals despite being one of the greatest batsmen ever because he joined the rebel league in South Africa.
“His international career was short-lived, because he went to play in the rebel league of South Africa at hat time”, recalled Raqibul.
“He later joined Asian Cricket Council as the Development Manager when our Ashraful (Syed Ashraful Haque) was there”, he added.
He was hit with a 25-year ban for leading a rebel cricket team to South Africa in breach of an international boycott He never played international cricket again after the widely condemned rebel tour known as AROSA Sri Lanka.
He and other players were banned for 25 years but it was lifted in 1990, allowing Warnapura to take an active role in coaching.
Sri Lanka’s former skipper Mahela Jayawardena paid tribute to Warnapura, who was one of his coaches as a young cricketer.
“He coached me at Nalanda (college) and was a steady influence in my growth as a cricketer and a person,” the 44-year-old tweeted.
Another ex-Sri Lankan captain, Sanath Jayasuriya, added that Warnapura would be missed.
“It is a sad day that the first Test captain Bandula Warnapura has played his last innings,” Jayasuriya wrote on Twitter.
The Sri Lanka national side wore black armbands during their T20 World Cup match against Namibia on Monday as a tribute to Warnapura, and the Under-19 team that played against Bangladesh in the second Youth ODI in Dambulla on Monday also did the same.
