Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene And Other Sri Lankan Cricketers Slam Govt. For Crisis

Former Sri Lankan cricketers like Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene, Sanath Jayasuriya among others have slammed the government for its handling of the economic crisis in the island nation.

"The people are not an enemy. Sri Lanka is its people. Time is fast running out, the people and their future must be protected and provided for," Sangakkara said in a statement.

Former Lankan captain Jayawardene called on the government to own up to their mistakes stating, "The government cannot ignore the needs of the people who have every right to protest. "

"Certain people controlling the economy of this country have lost the people’s confidence and must stand down. We then need a good team to give the country confidence and belief. There is no time to waste. It is time to be humble, not make excuses and to do the right thing," he said.

World Cup winner Sanath Jayasuriya backed protests against the government saying that the people had reached a breaking point and that "protests were a result of innocent people’s suffering and unfair oppression."

"Let us never be divided on race, religion, caste or party politics. Let’s unite as ‘ONE PEOPLE’ and stand up for ourselves, our children and the future generations to come," Jayasuriya said.

Former Lankan captain Marvan Atapattu was pictured with his wife in a protest against the Gotabaya Rajapaksa government in Colombo.

World Cup winner Roshan Mahanama slammed the government blaming "incompetent power-hungry rulers" for Sri Lanka's economic crisis.

The former ICC match referee also tweeted, "I request all of you to set aside religion, race, political parties, beliefs and stand as one nation at this point in time. Let us raise our voices and say "Enough is Enough!!""