Exclusive: Told President To Quit, Not Leave Lanka, Says Sanath Jayasuriya

"They said that they will resign, but they did not keep their promise. People lost all confidence in them," former Sri Lankan cricketer Sanath Jayasuriya said on Ranil Wickremesinghe and Gotabaya Rajapaksa

Former Sri Lankan cricketer Sanath Jayasuriya, who is among the fiercest critics of the island nation's regime, in an exclusive interview to NDTV said the blame for the protests after July 9 squarely rests on Ranil Wickremesinghe and Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who remained glued to their seats as Prime Minister and President, respectively, amid the unprecedented economic crisis and despite calls for their resignation from the initial stages of the protest.

"They said that they will resign, but they did not keep their promise. People lost all confidence in them," Mr Jayasuriya told NDTV, adding one of the ways to end the protests would be for the Prime Minister and the President to resign immediately.

"The people from the start have been demanding for the President to resign. But he left the country without resigning and gave power to the Prime Minister for the time being. So the people will not trust them anymore," he said.

President Gotabaya Rajapaksa had promised at the weekend to resign on Wednesday and clear the way for a "peaceful transition of power" after fleeing his official home in Colombo just before tens of thousands of protesters overran it. But he suddenly flew to the Maldives.