T10 League: Dinesh Chandimal named captain of Team Sri Lanka Cricket

The first edition of the T10 League is all set to get underway in December this year. Six teams will compete in the tournament that will be played in the UAE. The fixtures for the tournament were recently released. In fresh developments, the owners of the Team Sri Lanka Cricket have announced Dinesh Chandimal as the captain of their team.

Vijay Vyas, one of the two owners of the team, mentioned that Dinesh Chandimal possesses great leadership qualities and hence the owners have shortlisted him as the captain of the team. He feels that the experience of Chandimal will come in handy for the team. Also, the veteran would encourage the youngsters to perform better.

“We’ve appointed Chandimal as he is a great leader in the longer format and we want to see how he can handle the team in this shortest format. Tried and tested players are always great to be seen in action, but you need a leader who can inspire youngsters to perform,” quoted Vyas as per the quotes in GulfNews.

Meanwhile, other owner of the team, also spoke at length about the combination of the team. He also expressed his satisfaction over the appointment of Dinesh Chandimal as the captain of the team. He noted that Chandimal would arrive in to the series being totally match fit as he is already playing international cricket against India.

“We have many promising young cricketers Wanidu Hasaranga, Vishwa Fernando, Bhanuka Rajapaksa and Sachitra Senanyake and we want to see them give their best in this tournament,” said Kashif Rijas Shahzad, the other owner of the team.

“Like Chandimal, who is match-fit playing in India, all the others are practicing hard for this tournament under the watchful eyes of former Sri Lankan cricketers Avishka Gunawardana as head coach and Nuwan Zoysa as bowling coach,” Shahzad mentioned further.

Format here to succeed

Vijay Vyas further remarked that the owners of the teams and the officials involved with the league have firm in the prospects for the tournament. They believe that the format is here to stay and succeed well. Unlike the popular thought that the players would only turn up to have fun, the teams would be keen on registering big wins.

“There might exist in some quarters the fallacy that we are all here to have a little fun and enjoy the experiment. Nothing could be farther from the truth. This is not an experiment. A great deal of thought has gone into it and the research has shown we are on the right track,” quoted Vyas.

“We are happy at the farsightedness of Shaji and his unwavering commitment to the format. The format will be a surefire winner. In the subcontinent, we play ‘gully’ cricket and enjoy the thrill of it. This has the same speed and fervour and is just a refined version of it at the highest level,” he added further.