Dinesh Chandimal

Chandimal was a key member of 2012 ICC World Twenty20 runner-up team and 2014 ICC World Twenty20 winning team. He led Sri Lanka in first group stage of the 2014 ICC World Twenty20, until was suspended for slow over rate and subsequently lost the place in the team for the remainder of the tournament. On 26 September 2019, he joined the Sri Lankan Army as a volunteer commissioned officer and he will be eligible to play for Sri Lanka Army Sports Club.

On 19 February 2019, Chandimal scored a century in the 2018–19 SLC Twenty20 Tournament, a day after he was dropped from Sri Lanka's One Day International (ODI) squad for their series against South Africa.

In March 2019, he was named as Colombo's captain for the 2019 Super Provincial One Day Tournament.

In March 2018, he was named as the captain of the Colombo squad for the 2017–18 Super Four Provincial Tournament. The following month, he was also named as Colombo's captain for the 2018 Super Provincial One Day Tournament. In August 2018, he was named as Colombo's captain for the 2018 SLC T20 League.

In 2018, Mathews was appointed as the permanent limited over captain after the debate over few weeks. However, in the first match against Zimbabwe in Bangladesh Tri-series, Mathews was sidelined with a right hamstring injury and removed from the squad for three weeks. With that, Chandimal was appointed as the captain. Under his captaincy, Sri Lanka won the tri-series beating Bangladesh in the final.

On 7 February 2018, Chandimal was appointed as the captain for T20I side for Sri Lanka for Bangladesh tour, due to injury of permanent limited over captain Angelo Mathews. Under his captaincy, Sri Lanka chased a record breaking total of 193 in the first match and won the match by 6 wickets.

In May 2018, he was one of 33 cricketers to be awarded a national contract by Sri Lanka Cricket ahead of the 2018–19 season.

Chandimal was included to the one-off Twenty20 International against South Africa on 14 August 2018. He played as the wicket-keeper in the match as well. South Africa bowled out for 99 runs, which is their lowest score in T20Is. However, Sri Lanka lost 7 wickets in the easy chase, where Chandimal protected his end until the end. He was there at the end and held firm through sustained pressure from the South African pack to see Sri Lanka home with an unbeaten 36 runs.

He was appointed limited overs captain after Matthews was sacked after 2018 Asia Cup. Due to poor performances throughout New Zealand and Australia tours, Chandimal was dropped from the Test squad for South Africa tour. Dimuth Karunaratne was named as the stand-in captain for the tour, while Chandimal was released to play domestic cricket and regain his form with the bat. In December 2019, Chandimal was recalled for the Pakistan test series.

During the second Test against West Indies at St. Lucia on 17 June 2018, Chandimal was found to be guilty of making ball tampering incidence. After video evidence indicated that on the second day's play, Chandimal was taking sweets out from his left pocket, putting them in his mouth, before applying saliva to the ball within the space of a few seconds. Two on-field umpires Ian Gould, Aleem Dar, television umpire Richard Kettleborough and match referee Javagal Srinath observed the incidence carefully and charged him with one Test ban and two demerit points.

On 11 July 2018, ICC concluded its hearing on the trio, who had pleaded guilty to a level three spirit of cricket offence. His hearing took place before the start of the first Test against South Africa, with him found guilty. He received a two-match ban, with Suranga Lakmal captaining the side in his place. On 16 July 2018, independent Judicial Commissioner handed down a further eight suspension points with maximum possible punishment for their spirit of cricket offence and suspended for four ODIs as well.

Only Kamesh played cricket and went through Chandimal's footsteps. During second round of the Inter School Under-17 Division I tournament in 2017, Kamesh scored a match winning century against St. Xavier's College, Marawila and Ananda won the match by 129 runs. Following his brother's foot steps Kamesh scored a brilliant century in the 89th Battle of the Maroons.

He led the ODI team and T20I team in many occasions, where the permanent captains Angelo Mathews and Lasith Malinga were injured in many occasions. However, after many poor performances in bilateral series and in 2017 ICC Champions Trophy, Chandimal was dropped from limited over squads. During Zimbabwe tour, he was again dropped from the ODI squad as well. However, after terrible loss to Zimbabwe at home for the first time, the captaincy of Mathews was questioned and criticized by many critics. The result was, Mathews stepped down from the role in all formats on 11 July 2017. With that, Chandimal was named permanent captain of the Test team for Sri Lanka.

His first test captaincy came during the one-off Test against Zimbabwe in July 2017. In the match, Chandimal scored 55 in the first innings, which is recorded as the highest test score by a debut captain in a first innings for Sri Lanka as well. Sri Lanka won the match by 4 wickets at the end, by chasing massive total of 388 runs. This chase was recorded as the best chase by Sri Lanka in Tests and best successful chase in Asia.

On 6 October 2017, against Pakistan, Sri Lanka played their first day-night Test match. Chandimal scored 62 in the first innings, but dismissed for naught in the second innings. However, Sri Lanka won the match by 68 runs and won the series 2-0. With that, Chandimal had the distinction of being first captain in Sri Lanka's first day-night Test, and went to win the match.

His third ODI century came after five years of delay, against Ireland on 16 June 2016.

Chandimal had an impressive run scoring throughout the England series in 2016 and then in Australia series at home. He scored five consecutive ODI half centuries, which equals most consecutive ODI fifties by a Sri Lankan with Jayasuriya, Sangakkara and Dilshan. He missed the Sri Lankan record, when he was declared LBW by Adam Zampa on 48, just short of 2 runs for Chandimal's sixth consecutive fifty. Chandimal finished the England series with scores of 52, 62, 63 and 53 and in first ODI against Australia, he scored his fifth consecutive fifty with unbeaten 80.

Chandimal married his longtime partner Ishika Jayasekara on 1 May 2015 in Colombo.

During 2015 ICC Cricket World Cup, against Australia in Sydney, Chandimal scored 50 off 22 balls, this was the fastest fifty by a Sri Lankan batsman in Cricket world cup history, before Angelo Mathews scored a 20-ball fifty, where Sri Lanka had a massive 377 target to chase. During the innings, he was retired hurt, and eventually Sri Lanka lost the match by 64 runs.

He was also named as wicket keeper in the Test XI of the year 2015 by Cricinfo

On 17 July 2013, Chandimal became the youngest ODI captain for Sri Lanka, when he was appointed as the ODI captain for first two matches against South Africa in Colombo. In 2013, he was also appointed captain of the Sri Lanka Twenty20 International side and also vice-captain of the country's one day international team. During the 2014 ICC World Twenty20, he stepped down from the captaincy after injury and suspension due to slow over rate and later Lasith Malinga appointed as the captain. Malinga was able to lead the team for their first ever Twenty20 champion title and this strengthen Malinga as the permanent captain of the Twenty20 team.

During the 2012 Indian Premier League (IPL) auction, he was bought for $50,000 by the Rajasthan Royals. Recently, he signed a contract with Chittagong Vikings to play in the upcoming Bangladesh Premier League for the Chittagong Vikings.

Chandimal made his Test debut for Sri Lanka in December 2011, in the second Test of the series against South Africa in Durban. He made half-centuries (58 and 54) in each of Sri Lanka's innings becoming the first Sri Lankan batsman to score half centuries in both innings on Test debut. This incidentally led Sri Lanka to their first Test win in South Africa.

He made his international debut during the 2010 ICC World Twenty20 in the West Indies, playing in Sri Lanka's group games against New Zealand and Zimbabwe in the initial group stage and then playing against Australia in the "Super Eight" final series.

Chandimal started his cricketing career as a teenager at his first school Dharmasoka College, Ambalangoda. Later he moved to Ananda College, Colombo captaining the under-17 team. In 2008, he was appointed captain of the school's first eleven, which he led in 13 outright wins in a season, re-writing history in Sri Lankan school cricket. He was the first schoolboy cricketer to exceed 1,000 runs with an aggregate of 1,580, and won the Schoolboy Cricketer of the Year Award in 2009. After leaving school, he joined the Nondescripts Cricket Club

On 26 December 2004, Dinesh was just a 14-year-old boy when his family home was destroyed by the Indian Ocean Tsunami tragedy. He still frequents Balapitiya, to memorize the tragic incident which devastated his family.

Chandimal is the first child in the family. He has four younger brothers. First brother, Nirosh Lakmal was born in 1992, second brother Imesh Madhumal in 1996. Third brother Kamesh Nirmal was born in 2000 and the youngest Ayesha Shashimal was born in 2005. Nirosh and Imesh studied in Ambalangoda Dharmashoka College, whereas Kamesh and Ayesha in Ananda College, Colombo.

Lokuge Dinesh Chandimal (Sinhala: දිනේෂ් චන්දිමාල් ; born 18 November 1989) is a professional Sri Lankan cricketer of the Sri Lanka national cricket team and a former captain of all formats. A handy and agile right-handed batsman who sometimes plays as the wicket-keeper middle order batsman, Chandimal was the first captain to lead Sri Lanka in their first day-night Test match.