Sri Lanka respects depressed Yardy’s decision to pull out of World Cup: Jayawardene

Sri Lankan batsman Mahela Jayawardene has said that his team respects England all-rounder Michael Yardy's decision to pull out of the World Cup due to depression.

Sri Lanka will face England in the fourth quarterfinal at Colombo's R Premadasa Stadium on Saturday.

"I'm not a medical expert, but we do feel for Michael. I mean obviously those are individual things and you know you have to respect that, but for us we try to take our mind away from the game," the Sydney Morning Herald quoted Jayawardene, as saying.

"If you are not involved in the games, you do different things. We try to encourage lot of the guys to bring their families along on tour and those kind of things help and team-bonding activities," he added.

Yardy joins former England opening batsman Marcus Trescothick and Australian fast bowler Shaun Tait among the list of international stars who have battled depression. He made a plea for privacy.

"I felt that it (leaving) was the only sensible option for me and I wanted to be honest about the reason behind that decision," Yardy had said.

"I would like to wish the squad all the very best ahead of the game on Saturday. I would appreciate some privacy over the coming weeks while I spend time with family and close friends ahead of what I hope will be a successful season for Sussex," he added.