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Heartbreaking Loss For Dunith Wellalage As His Father Passes Away Of Heart Attack

Soumyajit Dutta

Dunith Wellalage's father passes away [Source: @iamAhmadhaseeb/X.com]Dunith Wellalage's father passes away [Source: @iamAhmadhaseeb/X.com]

Sri Lanka all-rounder Dunith Wellalage's father, Suranga Wellalage, passed away from a heart attack on Thursday, September 18. The sad news came the same day when Dunith was playing the final group stage match of the Asia Cup against Afghanistan in Abu Dhabi.

Dunith learnt about his father's death only after the completion of the match, which was won by Sri Lanka with six wickets, as Afghanistan was knocked out of the tournament.

Dunith's Availability For Rest Of The Tournament In Doubt

Dunith Wellalage, only 22, might exit the tournament for the sudden bereavement, and it leaves a big gap for the Sri Lankan team to fill in for the all-rounder's shoes. Though no official news has been received on Sri Lanka replacing Dunith, it is expected that the young cricketer would be unavailable for the Super Four stage to do the rites of his father.

Suranga was 54 when he passed away and was a former cricketer himself. His sudden death would come as a shock for the young son. Dunith notably played his first Asia Cup match on Thursday, and it was also his fifth T20 international game.

Wellalage's Performance Against SL

In the match against Afghanistan, though, despite being one of Sri Lanka's brightest spin prospects, Dunith got hammered. He gave away 49 runs from his 4 overs while scalping only 1 wicket of Ibrahim Zadran. The young spinner all-rounder, who debuted in T20Is back in 2024, boasts 7 wickets from his five matches and boasts an impressive best bowling figure of 3/9 in the same.

As Sri Lanka moves to the Asia Cup Super 4 stage, they will again face Bangladesh on September 20 in Dubai. However, the presence of Dunith Wellalage in that match is highly doubtful, given his recent loss.