Jayasuriya says he will not contest Lankan parliamentary polls

COLOMBO: Sri Lanka's former cricket captain Sanath Jayasuriya today said he will not contest the August 17 parliamentary election.

"I will not contest this election," Jayasuriya told PTI. The 46-year-old cricketer-turned politician won the United People's Freedom Alliance (UPFA) parliamentary election list for Matara district in 2010.

He served as the deputy minister of Postal services in the former UPFA government led by Mahinda Rajapaksa.

He was recently appointed a deputy minister by President Maithripala Sirisena in the new government of national unity formed after January 8, when Sirisena beat Rajapaksa.

Jayasuriya despite being introduced to politics by Rajapaksa refused to align with the former president when his supporters mounted a campaign to bring back Rajapaksa.

Sirisena last week agreed to bring back Rajapaksa, a move that angered many leaders in his party.

Arjuna Ranatunga, the former skipper and a key Sirisena ally in the January election, is said to be contemplating a move to leave Sirisena.