The following is an extract of the statement released by Airport Gymkhana Cricket Club Karachi, Pakistan President M. Salimullah Shaikh, on the death of Bandula Warnapura.

I got a message that one of my dearest friends in Sri Lanka, first Test captain of Sri Lanka Bandula Warnapura, had died in a local hospital. Being a close friend of mine, I was deeply saddened by his death. I pray that Allah may grant the strength to the family to bear his loss. People of Sri Lanka and cricket lovers will always feel his absence. Sri Lanka also lost a gentleman sports hero. 

His services will always be remembered throughout the world. Being the President of the Airport Gymkhana CC, Karachi all the members of the managing committee and I express our deep sorrow. Former Test cricketers of the club Aftab Baloch, Jalal-ud-Din, Rashid Khan, Rizwan-uz-Zaman and Asif Mujtaba also expressed their condolences.

The cricket world that Bandula Warnapura left behind