Country boy Dinesh Chandimal turns his back on 100,000 dollar IPL offer
Contrary to the whims and fancies of some of his greedy team-mates, Sri Lanka’s T20 skipper Dinesh Chandimal has rejected a lucrative $100,000 deal from Delhi Daredevils to play in this year’s cash-rich Indian Premier League.
Chandimal’s decision to reject the offer comes as a pleasant surprise to the cricketing fraternity which has seen some of country’s leading cricketers turning their back on national duty to play in the IPL.
Chandimal, 23, who played for Rajastan Royals last season, instead will concentrate on improving his batting skills ahead of the Champions Trophy tournament in June.
Arguably the most promising young batsmen Sri Lanka has produced in recent history he has been offered a deal several times first to replace injured England batsman Kevin Pietersen and then to substitute New Zealand’s Jesse Ryder, who is currently hospitalized after being attacked by two men last week at Christchurch nightclub.
The former Dharmasoka College cricketer from Ambalangoda is known as a technically sound batsman who could build or graft an innings.
Chandimal had a base price of $50,000 and was not sold this year, but injuries to some of their key players saw Delhi Daredevils, captained by Mahela Jayawardane, making him an offer.
Chandimal is identified as future captaincy material and now the deputy skipper in the test and ODI sides.
Given the current tension that prevails in Tamil Nadu where Sri Lankan cricketers are facing a backlash, there has been a nation-wide call for a boycott of the tournament but several Sri Lankan cricketers have already left the country to feature in the 2013 edition.
