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A 62-year-old coach who once mentored former Sri Lanka cricket captain Kusal Mendis during his school days has died following an altercation with players during a cricket match in Colombo. Police said on Thursday that a 17-year-old school cricketer was arrested on Monday on suspicion of assaulting Sumith Fernando and was remanded to child probation custody until August 17 after being produced before a Colombo court on Tuesday.
A dispute over drinking water led to the altercation involving two players on August 8, following which Fernando was taken to hospital. He died on Tuesday while receiving treatment.
Fernando was a former coach of Prince of Wales College in the Colombo suburb of Moratuwa. Among those under his tutelage were national ODI captain Kusal Mendis during his school days and several other prominent school-level cricketers.
He later served as the curator of Bloomfield Cricket & Athletic Club, a club that competes in Sri Lanka’s premier first-class cricket competition. Fernando’s funeral took place on Thursday.
According to Sri Lanka Mirror, “The suspect is a resident of Liyanagemulla, Seeduwa. According to preliminary investigations, a group of cricketers, including the suspect, who were undergoing training at the grounds, had gone to a water tap to drink water but found that no water was available.
“An argument reportedly broke out between the players and a club employee. Police said the employee had allegedly attempted to assault one of the players.”
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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