Sanath Jayasuriya slams Sri Lanka PM amid curfew in Western Province: 'Leave gracefully'

Former Sri Lanka cricketer Sanath Jayasuriya slammed Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe on Wednesday after the latter enforced a curfew across the Western Province, including the nation's capital Colombo. The curfew was put in place to quell the ongoing demonstrations in Sri Lanka, where thousands of people have taken to the streets to voice their opposition to Wickremesinghe's appointment as the country's acting president.

Jayasuriya, a vocal supporter of the protests since they started earlier this year, used a cricket analogy on Twitter to lambast Wickremesinghe. Jayasuriya referred to Wickremesinghe as "Mr. Bean" and claimed he was refusing to vacate the crease despite being rejected by the selectors and given out by the umpire. In a cricket match, the "last man" has no chance to bat alone, according to Jayasuriya, who also advised Wickremesinghe to "leave gracefully".

"Imagine Mr Bean brought into the team despite selectors rejected him because he is an ACTOR & not a cricketer! However, not only does he play when umpire rules him out refuses to leave the crease ! No more games. Last man has no chance to bat alone in cricket. Leave GRACEFULLY," Jayasuriya wrote on Twitter. 

Sri Lanka crisis

Sri Lanka is currently going through its worst political and economic crisis in decades, which has resulted in the ouster of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa. Thousands of protesters stormed the country's capital on Saturday and eventually laid siege on President Rajapaksa's official residence, resulting in him fleeing the country and leaving Wickremesinghe in charge.

Wickremesinghe was appointed the acting president on Wednesday which led to further protests across the country as people believe he is just an extension of Rajapaksa. Meanwhile, the speaker of Sri Lanka's parliament has announced that a new president will be elected on July 20.  

Image: AP/Twitter/@RW_UNP