Tony Opatha, who represented Sri Lanka in five ODIs and masterminded the rebel tour to South Africa, has passed away at the age of 73.
Opatha, who is a right-arm medium pace bowler, was educated at St. Peter’s College, Colombo and joined the Royal Ceylon Volunteer Air Force in 1968.
He first played for Sri Lanka in 1971 and was a member of the Sri Lankan teams playing in the World Cups in England in 1975 and 1979.
Tony Opatha later played club cricket in Ireland for one season in 1979 and was offered the post coach of the Holland team.
As player/manager of the rebel tour to South Africa in 1982-83 in defiance of the sporting ban against the apartheid state, he and the other tourists received a lifetime ban from international cricket.
In September 2018, Tony Opatha was one of 49 former Sri Lankan cricketers felicitated by Sri Lanka Cricket, in honour of their services before Sri Lanka became a full member of the International Cricket Council. (NewsWire)
Sad to hear of the passing of Tony Opatha .. Thoughts and prayers with his family #riptony https://t.co/Hq7vAlmZZx
— Russel Arnold (@RusselArnold69) September 11, 2020
