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On Monday, October 30, Percy Abeysekara, a longtime Sri Lankan admirer who was affectionately known as Uncle Percy, passed away. In August of this year, Percy celebrated becoming 87 years old, but he had been ill for a while. Notably, Percy received an additional Rs 50 Lakh from Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) in September to help with his wellbeing and upkeep of good health.
Having cheered for his country for more than 40 years, Percy Abeysekara will always be recognized as the oldest cricket fan in Sri Lanka. He even went on multiple overseas tours with the squad. Fans everywhere will miss Percy’s fun personality and the sight of him waving the Sri Lankan flag.
Sad, sad day not just for Sri Lankan but entire cricket community! Uncle Percy has passed away after a prolonged illness
— Amol Karhadkar (@karhacter) October 30, 2023
Uncle Percy Abeysekera was recently visited by Indian captain Rohit Sharma at his house while India was hosting the Asia Cup in Sri Lanka in 2023. Virat Kohli, the captain of India at the time, also invited him to the dressing room during the 2015 tour to Sri Lanka.
Notably, since Sri Lanka’s inaugural Test match against England in 1982, Percy has frequently been seen cheering them on from the stands. He carried a Sri Lankan flag as he walked England batsman Chris Tavare around the field at the P Sara Oval in the capital city of Colombo during the historic match.
Since then, the Sri Lankan cricket authorities have let him to return to the field to accompany the team off the field following every match, win or lose, while continuing to fly his flag. Even though Percy Abeysekara was twice invited to join the Sri Lankan cricket board, he turned down the invitation because he didn’t like the way cricket was run.
Garfield Sobers and Sachin Tendulkar are the names Percy Abeysekara gave his grandkids.
When he was twelve years old, in 1948, he watched Australia vs. All Ceylon in the Colombo Oval (now Sara Stadium), and that was when he fell in love with cricket. He started cheerleading in the 1950s and got to watch the great Sir Donald Bradman in action during the match.
Garfield, named for the renowned West Indies all-rounder Sir Garfield Sobers, and Sachinka, named for the Indian batting great Sachin Tendulkar, are the names of Percy’s grandsons.
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