Bad Boy of Sri Lanka cricket gets a new lease of life

Sri Lanka ‘A’ Captain Sahan Arachchige (left) and Vice-Captain 

Niroshan Dickwella  

• Dickwella back in the fray – named Vice-Captain of Sri Lanka ‘A’ squad

By Sa’adi Thawfeeq

Following closely on the heels of being handed an annual player contract by Sri Lanka Cricket and then picked by Dambulla Sixers in the Lankan Premier League (LPL) season 6 Player Draft, it seems that the ‘Bad Boy of Sri Lanka cricket’ – Niroshan Dickwella is getting a new lease of life.    

Sri Lanka Cricket’s new selection committee sees something good in Dickwella and have made him vice-captain to Sahan Arachchige in the Sri Lanka ‘A’ squads picked for the One-day tri-series against India ‘A’ and Afghanistan ‘A’ and for the two-match unofficial 4-day tests against India ‘A’ which follows after. Both Arachchige and Dickwella are former captains of NCC.

The 32-year-old attacking left-hand batsman and wicket-keeper throughout his career had issues with discipline being in the headlines for the wrong reasons. Along with teammates Kusal Mendis and Danushka Gunathilake, Dickwella was handed a one-year ban from international cricket, a six-month ban from domestic cricket and fined $50,000 for breaching bio-secure protocols during Sri Lanka’s tour of England in 2021. The ban was later lifted after six months.

Three years later in 2024, Dickwella was once again in the headlines when he was handed a three-year suspension after testing positive for cocaine during a doping test carried out by the Sri Lanka Anti-Doping Agency (SLADA) during the Lanka Premier League T20 tournament in July. Following the positive test Dickwella was suspended from all forms of cricket by SLC and his domestic club NCC. However, on an appeal the suspension was reduced to three months and he was allowed to resume playing cricket once again.

Dickwella had a stellar school cricket career with Trinity College, Kandy where he led them to become champions and he also won the Schoolboy Cricketer of the Year award in 2012. He was marked for greater achievements being a sound tactician with a remarkable cricket brain. But destiny was to deny him of attaining further laurels.

Following the disciplinary issues Dickwella also lost his form and has been out of favour with the national selectors for the past three years, having last appeared for his country in a Test match against New Zealand in March 2023.

The upcoming tri-series and two-match four-day series gives Dickwella the opportunity to redeem himself and try and regain his place in the national side.

The Tri-Nation One-Day Series, featuring Sri Lanka ‘A’, India ‘A’, and Afghanistan ‘A’, will be played at the Rangiri Dambulla International Cricket Stadium (RDICS), Dambulla from 9-21 June. It will be followed by the unofficial two-test 4-day matches against India ‘A’ at Galle from 25-28 June and 2-5 July.

SRI LANKA ‘A’ ONE-DAY SQUAD

Niroshan Dickwella (Vice-Captain/wk), Avishka Fernando, Nuwanidu Fernando, Sadeera Samarawickrama (wk), Sahan Arachchige (Captain), Ahan Wickramasinghe, Chamika Karunaratne, Wanuja Sahan, Vijayakanth Viyaskanth, Mohamed Shiraz, Dulaj Samuditha, Vishen Halambage, Ravindu Fernando, Chamika Gunasekara, Garuka Sanketh, Kugadas Mathulan

SRI LANKA ‘A’ FOUR-DAY SQUAD

Pawantha Weerasinghe, Sohan de Livera, Nuwanidu Fernando, Ashen Bandara, Sahan Arachchige (Captain), Ahan Wickramasinghe, Niroshan Dickwella (Vice-Captain/wk), Ravindu Fernando, Kavindu Pathiratne, Dilum Sudeera, Mohamed Shiraz, Chamika Gunasekara, Keshara Nuwantha, Dulaj Samuditha, Praveen Maneesha, Asanka Manoj