His cricket career on the wane, former captain Sanath Jayasuriya has taken the political plunge and will have a face off against ex-teammate Arjuna Ranatunga during election campaigns for their respective alliances for the April 8 Sri Lankan Parliamentary polls.
In his 40s and an active politician, veteran batsman Sanath Jayasuriya on Thursday returned to the Sri Lankan One-day and Twenty20 cricket side after more than a year for the series against England later this month.
Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa's ruling United People's Freedom Alliance (UPFA) on Thursday won two more seats in Kandy and Trincolamee districts, but still fell short of two-thirds majority it was seeking to carry out constitutional changes.
Questioning the purpose of opposition Presidential candidate Sarath Fonseka's recent India visit, an ally of Sri Lanka's ruling party has asked the former Army General to reveal the details of his tour and whether he reached an agreement with New Delhi.
India said it will continue to extend its developmental assistance to the friendly people of Sri Lanka.
Sri Lanka's former president Mahinda Rajapaksa on Tuesday accepted defeat in the parliamentary elections even before the announcement of the final results.
Political analysts said Sirisena's move to install Rajapaksa as the prime minister could lead to a constitutional crisis as the 19th amendment to the Constitution would not allow the sacking of Wickremesinghe as the premier without a majority.
Ending months of speculation, Sri Lanka's vanquished former president Mahinda Rajapaksa on Wednesday announced his return to electoral politics, saying he will lead an opposition faction during the general elections in August.
Over 15 million voters are eligible to vote in the election being held under electoral districts-based proportional representation system.
India welcomed resolution of the political crisis in Sri Lanka and exuded confidence that relations between the two countries will continue to move on in an upward trajectory.
President Maithripala Sirisena's new Cabinet was also sworn in and Rajapaksa was named the new minister of finance and economic affairs.
Speaker Karu Jayasuriya questioned the president's decision to suspend parliament till November 16, saying it will have "serious and undesirable" consequences on the country.
Voters in Sri Lanka's Tamil majority Northern Province on Saturday began voting in the first local elections in 25 years to elect a council to govern the former war zone, four years after the military defeated the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam after decades of bloody civil war.
'We have nothing to gain by helping any other country to become a threat to India,' former Sri Lanka president Mahinda Rajapaksa, who is on the comeback trail, tells Rediff.com in an exclusive interview.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances