Sanath Jayasuriya urges more Indians to visit Sri Lanka to revive economy amid huge crisis

Ahead of the India Legends vs Sri Lanka Legends Road Safety World Series 2022 final, legendary cricketer Sanath Jayasuriya has urged more people to visit his country to help solve the economic crisis. The island nation is suffering its worst economic crisis since independence in 1948. Since tourism is a major source of revenue for Sri Lanka, the COVID pandemic over the past few years has had a devastating impact on its economy.

Jayasuriya urges more Indians to visit Sri Lanka

Taking to his official Twitter handle on October 1, Sanath Jayasuriya put up a post, where he urged more Indians to visit Sri Lanka, which he believes has 'got everything' for tourists. His post also included a video, where he added, "We want more Indians to come and visit Sri Lanka. We have several cultural and nice places to visit in Sri Lanka. We have everything on the small Island."

"It's important for us to support Sri Lanka as a team. Players are also doing their bit. We are expecting 1 million tours by the end of this year. We are focussing and promoting mainly India to come and visit Sri Lanka and see how beautiful this country is," Jayasuriya further added.

As for Jayasuriya, he is set to play for Sri Lanka legends in the Road Safety World Series final against India Legends, which is set to commence live at 7:30 PM IST on Saturday, October 1.

Sri Lanka is going through major economic crisis

Sri Lanka is suffering its worst economic crisis since gaining independence in 1948, which comes on the heels of successive waves of COVID-19, threatening to undo years of development progress and severely undermining the country's ability to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The oil supply shortage has forced schools and government offices to close until further notice. Reduced domestic agricultural production, a lack of foreign exchange reserves, and local currency depreciation have fuelled the shortages. The economic crisis will push families into hunger and poverty - some for the first time - adding to the half a million people who the World Bank estimates have fallen below the poverty line because of the pandemic.

(Inputs from ANI)