Former Sri Lanka cricketer D. S. de Silva has passed away in London on Monday following a brief illness. He was 83.

A stalwart from the game’s formative years in the island, de Silva was part of Sri Lanka’s XI for their inaugural Test in 1982 against England. A year later, with injuries sidelining Duleep Mendis and Roy Dias, de Silva was handed the captaincy for the tour of New Zealand, a late call-up that came after he had already crossed his 40th birthday.

A classical leg-spinner with a cultured approach, de Silva was a familiar name in Ceylon colours long before Test status arrived, operating tirelessly in an era when opportunities were few and recognition scarcer still.

He featured in both the 1975 and 1979 World Cups, back when Sri Lanka were still associate members, and played a decisive role in the famous upset of India in the 1979 tournament, claiming three wickets in a win that proved a watershed moment on the road to Test recognition.

De Silva was also among the rare professionals of his generation, having plied his trade in English league cricket, broadening his horizons at a time when overseas exposure for Sri Lankans was the exception rather than the norm.

After hanging up his boots, de Silva continued to serve the game as a selector and coach, leaving his imprint on the next generation. He coached Sri Lanka to the Under-19 World Cup final, nurturing young talent with the same patience he once showed at the crease and at the bowling mark.

He later moved into administration, heading Sri Lanka Cricket from 2009 to 2011 as chairman of the Interim Committee. During his tenure, the Hambantota and Pallekele International Cricket Stadiums were built ahead of the 2011 World Cup, which Sri Lanka co-hosted.

De Silva’s passing marks the end of an era, as one of the quiet architects of Sri Lanka’s rise in world cricket finally leaves the field.

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The second edition of the National Short ‎Track Athletics Championships will be held at the 200 metres track of the Sugathadasa Stadium on January 3, 2026.

‎The event scheduled for a 1.00 pm start is limited to a few track and field events generally held at indoor stadiums.

‎It will be the first track and field event of the year and will be held when Sri Lanka Athletics is governed under a convening committee.

‎Sri Lanka Athletics is without an elected body after Sports Ministry’s attempt to conduct the election of office bearers under new sports regulation ended up in a fauxpass.

‎Now the Sports Ministry is scheduled to conduct a Special General Meeting next week where an Election Committee will be reappointed to hold the election of office bearers.

‎The short track meet will be held under the observation of the convening committee.

‎The events to be held at the meet are (Men & Women) 60m, 400m, 800m, 1500m, 3000m, 60m, Hurdles, High Jump, Long Jump, Triple‎Jump and Shot Put.

‎The 60m, 60m Hurdles and 400m events will be held as heats and finals, where the best times will qualify for the finals.

‎Other track events will be held as time finals (Final A/ Final B).

‎All the field events will have only 3+1 rounds.

(RF)

Australian allrounder Cameron Green has been bought by Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) for INR 25.20 crore ($2.8 million approx.), making him the third-most expensive player sold at an IPL auction, and the most expensive overseas player ever.

KKR also bought the second-most expensive player at the IPL 2026 auction – Sri Lankan fast bowler Matheesha Pathirana for INR 18 crore ($1.97 million approx.).

The record for the most expensive uncapped Indian player was also broken, with 20-year-old left-arm spin allrounder Prashant Neer and 19-year-old wicketkeeper Kartik Sharma going to Chennai Super Kings (CSK) for a staggering INR 14.2 crore each, breaking Avesh Khan’s INR 10 crore mark in the 2022 auction. Jammu and Kashmir fast bowler Auqib Nabi also had a big payday, with Delhi Capitals buying him for INR 8.4 crore.

KKR, who began the auction with the largest purse of INR 64.3 crore, had to stave off competition for Green from CSK, who had the second-highest purse of INR 43.4 crore. The bidding, though, began with Mumbai Indians (MI), who had to drop out of the race quickly because they had a purse of only INR 2.75 crore. Rajasthan Royals (RR), who had a purse of INR 16.05 crore, took the bid as far as INR 13.40 crore before exiting, at which point CSK joined the bidding against KKR.

Green’s bid took more than ten minutes to complete, and he ranks behind Rishabh Pant (INR 27 crore) and Shreyas Iyer (INR 26.75 crore) on the list of most expensive IPL players. The most expensive overseas players before Green were Mitchell Starc (INR 24.75 crore) and Pat Cummins (INR 20.50 crore). Green, however, will get only INR 18 crore due to a maximum salary cap imposed by the IPL on overseas players at mini-auctions. The bid amount in excess of INR 18 crore (INR 7.2 crore) will go to the BCCI for player welfare.

Green first played the IPL in 2023, when MI bought him for INR 17.5 crore. He scored 452 runs at a strike rate of 160.28, and picked up six wickets. MI then traded Green to RCB a year later for the same price. He scored 255 runs for RCB at a strike rate of 143.25, and took ten wickets. Green did not register for the mega auction ahead of IPL 2025 because he was returning from a back injury.

Green was one of only two players sold from the first set of batters on Tuesday, along with South Africa batter David Miller, who went to Delhi Capitals (DC) at his base price of INR 2 crore. Jake-Fraser McGurk, Prithvi Shaw, Devon Conway and Sarfaraz Khan were unsold.

The lukewarm bidding continued into the second set of allrounders, with only two of seven players sold. Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) bought Sri Lanka’s Wanidu Hasaranga at his base price of INR 2 crore. Venkat Iyer, who had been bought by KKR for INR 23.75 crore in the IPL 2025 auction, was sold to Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) for INR 7 crore. Liam Livingstone, Rachin Ravindra, Gus Atkinson, Wiaan Mulder and Deepak Hooda were unsold in the first set of allrounders.

There was more action in the first set of wicketkeepers, with MI buying South Africa’s Quinton de Kock, DC buying England’s Ben Duckett, and KKR buying New Zealand’s Finn Allen – all at their base prices. CSK, who began the auction with the second-largest purse, did not buy a player from the first three sets.

CSK did not bid for Pathirana, who they had released at a price of INR 13 crore after IPL 2025. The demand for Pathirana began with DC and LSG, and once the bid reached INR 15.6 crore, DC dropped out considering they had a purse of INR 17.8 crore. KKR entered the bidding and priced out LSG, who had a purse of INR 20.95 crore, at INR 18 crore. Having missed out on Pathirana, LSG immediately bought South African quick Anrich Nortje at his base price of INR 2 crore.

RCB’s second buy at the auction was New Zealand fast bowler Jacob Duffy (INR 2 crore), who could slot in as back-up for Josh Hazlewood.

CSK did bid for legspinner Ravi Bishnoi, but stopped once the price reached INR 6 crore. RR and SRH then bid for Bishnoi, and he was eventually bought by RR for INR 7.2 crore. Akeal Hosein, the West Indies left-arm spinner, was eventually CSK’s first buy at the auction, at his base price of INR 2 crore.

Only 12 out of 40 players in the first six sets were sold.

Players bought at auction

KKR : Cameron Green, Finn Allen, Matheesha Pathirana, Tejasvi Dahiya, Kartik Tyagi

LSG: Wanindu Hasaranga, Anrich Nortje, Mukul Choudhary, Naman Tiwari

DC: David Miller, Ben Duckett, Auqib Nabi

RCB:Venkatesh Iyer, Jacob Duffy

MI:Quinton de Kock

RR:Ravi Bishnoi, Sushant Mishra, Yash Raj Punja, Vignesh Puthur

CSK:Akeal Hosein, Kartik Sharma, Prashant Veer

GT:Ashok Sharma

PBKS:

SRH: Shivang Kumar

(Cricinfo)