What can a captain do to motivate his side when it is going through a rough patch? Common sense will say that other than motivating his players and urging them to work hard, the captain can do very little. However, Sri Lanka skipper Dinesh Chandimal is an exception by a big mile.
Chandimal, who was appointed the Test captain after Angelo Mathews stepped down from his post, began his captaincy career with a win against Zimbabwe but soon realised the road forward was very tough when the Islanders suffered a 3-0 whitewash at home against India. The hosts were thoroughly outplayed in every Test as every poor performance of their was followed by even a poorer one.
And perhaps to avoid any further humiliation, Chandimal sought help from the unlikeliest of sources before Sri Lanka flew to the United Arabia Emirates to take on Pakistan in the two-Test series. Days after sealing an impressive 2-0 win over Sarfraz Ahmed & Co., the 27-year old, on Tuesday (October 31), insisted that his team’s success was down to witchcraft.
Chandimal sensationally claimed that he had received a special blessing from a meyni, or sorcerer, ahead of the series.
“I am always ready to accept the blessings of anyone – whether it is a meyni or any clergy,” Chandimal told reporters after returning to Colombo.
“You can have talent, but without this blessing you can’t move forward,” he added.
Chandimal also revealed that the sorcerer he consulted was the mother of a friend and he had no hesitation in taking her blessings.
Sri Lanka had gone on to defeat Pakistan in the first Test by 21 runs while defending a modest 135 before winning the second game by 68 runs, thus becoming the first team to register a series win over Pakistan since they shifted base in UAE from 2009.
Meanwhile, the surprising comments from the Sri Lanka star have come a week after Sri Lanka’s sports minister Dayasiri Jayasekara denied ordering the struggling national team to use witchcraft ahead of the series. Jayasekara had also threatened to sue the sorcerer after the latter claimed that she cast a spell over Pakistan on his request.
Chandimal, however, is being mocked on social media for his startling comments as, since the Test series, Sri Lanka lost all the limited-over games against the same opposition.
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