Former Sri Lankan batting maestro and 1996 World Cup-winning star Aravinda de Silva, alongside his wife Priyanga Anushka Wijenayake, faces major legal complications after the Colombo Fort Magistrate’s Court issued arrest warrants against them on Wednesday, September 16, 2026. Colombo Fort Magistrate Pasan Amarasena passed the order during proceedings tied to the contentious multibillion-rupee Airbus procurement scandal originally involving the late former SriLankan Airlines CEO Kapila Chandrasena and his wife. The legendary cricketer and his spouse had previously stood as legal sureties for Chandrasena’s bailed wife, who is currently overseas and failed to appear for the scheduled court hearing, prompting the magistrate to issue arrest directives when both the accused and her designated guarantors were absent from the bench.
Defense Cites Bereavement Over Mother’s Passing as Magistrate Directs Formal Plea for Warrant Revocation
Appearing before the bench, the legal counsel representing the de Silva family pleaded that the 60-year-old cricket icon and his wife were unable to attend the judicial proceedings due to an acute personal tragedy—the passing of Aravinda de Silva’s mother, whose funeral was taking place on the very same day. Taking note of the defense submission, Magistrate Amarasena directed the counsel to furnish all relevant death certificates and funeral verification documents alongside a formal motion to seek the cancellation and recall of the arrest warrants during subsequent proceedings. Renowned globally as one of Sri Lanka’s greatest cricket luminaries, de Silva represented his nation across 93 Tests and 308 ODIs between 1984 and 2003, scoring 6,361 Test runs and 9,284 ODI runs, forever immortalized for his heroic match-winning century in the 1996 World Cup final against Australia.