COLOMBO
Sri Lanka's Twenty20 captain Dinesh Chandimal has made himself unavailable for the IPL, and has instead planned an intensive training programme to prepare for the Champions Trophy, and a busy limited-overs schedule to follow for Sri Lanka. Chandimal will also take English lessons and media training in Sri Lanka during the next two months.
, having been named captain in Twenty20s, and vice-captain in the other formats in February.
Chandimal had been approached by at least one IPL franchise, who were seeking a replacement for an injured overseas player, but although no formal offer was made, he has decided to rule himself out of the tournament.
Chandimal had gone unsold in the 2013 IPL auction, and if a franchise had signed him as a replacement, his contract would have been worth his base auction price of $100,000. He is unlikely to have regularly been in the playing XI however, and may have collected significantly less than that amount. Training opportunities may also have been limited during the tournament. In 2012, he was released by Rajasthan Royals midway through the IPL to allow him to return home to train ahead of the home series against Pakistan.
"Chandimal hasn't requested a no objection certificate (NOC), and so he won't be playing in the IPL," Sri Lanka Cricket CEO Ajit Jayasekara said. Thirteen other Sri Lanka players have signed contracts for this year's IPL, but will not play in Chennai, due to political upheaval over the treatment of Sri Lankan Tamils in Tamil Nadu.
Sri Lanka's next international assignment is the Champions Trophy in June, after which they play a tri-series with India and West Indies, and a home limited-overs series against South Africa, in quick succession.