Former Sri Lankan cricketer, Roshan Mahanama has said that his country needs help from neighbouring countries like India, China, and Pakistan, but without "an ulterior motive".
He also called India the 'Elder brother' of Sri Lanka.
"We need to have the support of countries like India... India has always been an elder brother. We have good relations with Pakistan &to an extent, with China. We need support from all of them. But, don't lookout for an ulterior motive," said Roshan Mahanama, former Sri Lankan cricketer to ANI.
"We've been suffering for the last 74yrs or so as they (govt) have only been focussing on how they can remain in power rather than looking after people... for solutions, they need to start talking to int'l agencies like IMF," he added.
Mahanama has been vocal about organising protests against the current regime in Sri Lanka. He was quoted saying by Livewire Sri Lanka: "Since I have no respect for most of the leaders of our country, I’m of the opinion that we have to come together to hold our leaders accountable for their actions. I request every citizen to come forward to join the protests."
After retiring from cricket, Mahanama became a famous match referee with the International Cricket Council (ICC).
India on Thursday said it is ready to continue to extend support to Sri Lanka facing a severe economic crisis under its 'neighbourhood first' policy to bring its economic condition back on track and is closely monitoring developments there.