Chandimal wants to play all three formats
Dinesh Chandimal was once the hero of all aspiring cricketers - File pic
The COVID-19 pandemic may have temporarily stalled Dinesh Chandimal’s bid to cement his place in the national side after making a successful return to Test cricket in December. Unfazed by this setback, the former Sri Lanka captain is confident of representing the country in all three formats of the game once again when normalcy returns.
The last few months have been a rollercoaster ride for Chandimal. After being sidelined for seven months, he scored a gritty half-century against Pakistan on his return to the Test team. But the Coronavirus outbreak hampered his plans of securing a permanent position in the side after the series against England was postponed.
“This is an unexpected major crisis for the entire world. My focus at this point is to stay at home. Whenever possible I do my best to help in this hour of need. In the meantime, I do my physical exercises at home every day. Spending time with my family, in particular, is also a great help to clear my mind,” Chandimal told the Sunday Times.
He also felt that it would take at least six months for international cricket to return back to normal.
“I think we are lucky in a way because we don’t suffer as badly as other countries do, but we will have to wait for some time until the countries recover from the pandemic. I think it will take at least six months for international cricket to return to normalcy,” he added.
It has been 10 years since Chandimal made his debut in international cricket. In the early years of his career, he was known to be an instinctive player. But in recent times he has changed his style of batting. As a result, he was excluded from the shorter formats in the recent past.
However, the elegant right-hand batsman denied that the change in his batting style was the reason for his exclusion from the limited over formats.
“I don’t know what the selectors are thinking. I changed my bat grip in 2013. Maybe that affected my hard-hitting shots. But now I’ve changed my style. I’ve realised what works for me. In the last domestic tournament, I was the best batsman. I have scored runs consistently and that’s what I can do at the moment,” said Chandimal.
The former Anandian always thrived on challenges and played his heart out for the national team throughout his career. Thrust into the leadership role becoming the 15th Sri Lanka Test captain in 2017, Chandimal led the team to a historic series win against Pakistan in the UAE, the first time a touring team had won a Test series there.
“Captaincy is a tough job. It is challenging but I always wanted to get the best result for the country and give joy to our beloved fans,” said Chandimal, who reiterated that it was an honour to lead the country.
However, 2019 was a difficult year for Chandimal as he was axed as Test captain after the tour of Australia and was overlooked for the 2019 World Cup as well. Despite all these setbacks, Chandimal believes he is capable of representing the country in all three formats of the game.
“I think I am capable of playing in all three formats. I have been consistent in all three formats in the recent past. My performances at domestic level will give evidence that I am good enough to be picked for the limited-overs squads as well. All I can say is that I am ready to do anything for the sake of the team,” he reiterated.
Chandimal, who enlisted in the Sri Lanka Army as a Major, is well known to make sacrifices even at international level.
“I always took decisions not for the sake of me but for my country and my team. When I got an invitation from retired Major General Bimal Widanage to join the Sri Lanka Army, I had no hesitation. My duty is to play for their cricket team and develop the sport,” he noted.