Nidahas Trophy: Thisara Perera To Lead Sri Lanka In Suspended Dinesh Chandimal's Absence

Thisara Perera will lead Sri Lanka in the next two games of the ongoing Nidahas Trophy. The decision has been taken after regular skipper Dinesh Chandimal was suspended by the ICC for two games for an over-rate offence.

Chandimal was suspended after Sri Lanka were found guilty of a serious over-rate offence in Saturday’s match against Bangladesh. The Chandimal-led side was ruled to be four overs short of their target when time allowances were taken into consideration. As a result, the Chandimal will miss the games against India and Bangladesh respectively on March 12 and March 16. On the other hand, the other Sri Lankan players were fined 60 percent of their fee.

In Chandimal’s absence, Perera will don the captain’s hat in a couple of games. Sri Lanka Cricket confirmed the news on Sunday after the ICC released its verdict.

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Meanwhile, Perera will be looking to help Sri Lanka get back to winning ways. The Islanders were stunned by Bangladesh in their second game. After the morale-boosting win against India, the hosts suffered a shocking 5-wicket defeat against Bangladesh. Sri Lanka had scored a daunting 214 for 6 in the allotted 20 overs. However, Bangladesh rode on Mushfiqur Rahim’s whirlwind fifty to chase down the total in a thrilling style.

Not new to captaincy:

Perera is not new to captaincy. He was handed the team’s reins last year when regular skipper Upul Tharanga along with several other players had pulled out of the T20 series in Pakistan due to security reasons. However, Perera’s track record as captain has been a forgettable one. He led Sri Lanka in six games and ended up on the losing side on all occasions. But with the side now looking in good form, he will be keen to break that duck.