Former Sri Lankan cricketer Dhammika Niroshan was shot dead in front of his wife and children. He was shot dead at his home in Ambalangoda on Tuesday night.

This shocking incident has plunged the cricket world and Sri Lankan cricket into mourning.

Local police said an unidentified assailant entered Niroshan's house and shot him. Dhammika Niroshan was with his wife and two children at that time.

The suspected attacker is on the run. However, it is still unclear what exactly led the attacker to shoot Niroshan.

Ambalangoda police said they are trying to nab the culprit and investigation into the incident is on. Preliminary investigation revealed that the accused had brought a 12 bore gun.

The 41-year-old Niroshan represented Sri Lanka at the Under-19 level. He made his debut against Singapore in 2000. He played Test and ODI cricket for two years at the U-19 level and also captained the team. Niroshan was a right-arm fast bowler and right-arm batsman. In the 2002 U-19 World Cup, Niroshan took 7 wickets in five innings at an average of 19.28.

He took 19 wickets in 12 first-class matches and scored 200 runs with the bat. He scored 48 runs and took 5 wickets in 8 List-A matches during the same period. Source: Hindustan Times