Surviving Tsunami to leading Sri Lanka - the Chandimal story

As a 15-year-old, Dinesh Chandimal sat at home and watched on TV as Sri Lanka were handed a hammering by New Zealand in Auckland. More than 10000 kilometers away, in Ambalangoda, Chandimal was watching intently hoping to gather whatever points he could. He had to. Chandimal had packed his bags and his cricketing gear the day earlier. He had been called up for the trials for the Sri Lankan Under-15 team. It was to be one of the first steps towards realising a lifelong goal.

It was a poya, full moon day, and as usual the house was being cleaned. Chandimal's mother had stepped out to clear the garbage. Moments later, he heard a screech from his mother. "Actually, we thought it was a snake or something," says Chandimal. But it was the tsunami, or 'The Devil', as Chandimal constantly says.

Ambalangoda was one of the worst hit areas. The waves were more than 15 feet high and came in at a rapid pace. After the first wave had hit the village, the waters drew back, before coming back stronger and more menacingly. The devastation left thousands homeless, hopeless, hungry and frightened. It killed as many, if not more.

"We went there and saw, and one of the uncles in our village, he came and saw for just five seconds and said 'the tsunami has come as a devil'. He said to us 'Please run with your children.' He shouted to us. Then, we ran. Ran for, I think, 200-300 meters. Fortunately, there was a hill. So we ran to that hill and we stayed there. From there, we saw our home and everything going like foam."

"The tsunami came as the devil," Chandimal repeatedly says while talking about that fateful day. Until then, he hadn't even heard the word 'tsunami'. The incidents and memories of that day are fresh and vivid in his mind, and the pain in his voice is all too apparent. He watched his house, his recently-packed kit bag and everything he and his family owned being washed away by the sea. It swallowed up everything, but it also left in its wake a swathe of dead bodies, people Chandimal would've known. Chandimal could only watch on helpless from atop a hill. He and his family were safe, for now.

In the aftermath of the tsunami, a shaken Chandimal went hunting for his kit bag. He had to travel to Colombo for the trials. He found his bag more than two kilometers away, wet and useless. Chandimal wasn't stuck between the devil and the deep blue sea, here the devil was the deep blue sea.

It left him and his family with mental scars that won't easily be erased. "Of course, it's always at the back of our minds. After tsunami, we went to the sea only twice. That much we were scared as a family. But you know that's the way life goes..."

The events of December 26, 2004, strengthened Chandimal. His family was now without a house, without any clothes or food. It made him resolute, his family's well-being became his main focus and he ensured he reached his goal through cricket.

"One time, in 2004, we didn't have a house to stay. This is a hotel," he says, looking around the swanky MovenPick Hotel in Colombo. "My parents and my family and myself, we put a lot of hard work for me to become a player and a captain. The word is hard work."

"We were affected by tsunami. We lost everything. Tsunami came as the devil and broke everything. So actually that (motivated me) to become an international cricketer and become a good cricketer. So that was the strength I think, after the tsunami. Then I was thinking I have to stick to my cricket, then I put some target - I want to be this, I want to be this man, this player and stuff.

"One or two months, we struggled as a family. We didn't have a place to stay. (We had) food issues, some clothes issues... So, but I think that gave me really good (motivation) to become a good cricketer."

So when the opportunity to take his cricket to the next level came calling, Chandimal accepted it, albeit with a heavy heart. The current Test captain was the star of his team, Dharmasoka College, with both bat and behind the wickets. "My wicketkeeping was superb in that time, I was flying to take catches. No mistakes! Like now," he laughs.

Against Ananda College, he was the only player to show some fight, scoring 77 not out as the team folded for 120. The coach of Ananda College, Udayananda Perera, was soon at his house, asking his parents to send him to Colombo.

"Actually, my parents pushed me to go to Ananda College. I didn't want to go. Because in Dharmasoka College, it was my first school and I loved playing there, in my home town. My parents told me, 'If you're there (Ananda College), at least you can get a good job. So then, I said 'Okay, I should go now because we have so many family problems.' We didn't have a good home, actually. For six months, we stayed at the government apartments. We were there for six months. So then I felt 'Okay, I should go, I should come to Colombo and play cricket'.

At Ananda College, Chandimal put in the hard yards. His days in the hostel were far from a breeze. He was not with his family, and the food was not to his liking. But he ensured he always put on a smile when his family asked about him.

"I didn't know (anyone in Colombo). I stayed at the hostel, Ananda hostel, for 3-4 years. And I used to eat that hostel food. It's always tough (laughs). Sometimes my parents called me and asked 'Son, are you okay with the food? Are you okay with the stay?' But sometimes, I'm not okay with the food, sometimes I didn't take my breakfast because breakfast was not good to eat. But I didn't say anything to them. I said, 'Yes, I am fine'. And so that's the way I was there at the hostel."

But it was not all gloom, either. Chandimal maintained a good relationship with everyone at the college, and he was repaid with kindness. He is not sure why, but ventures that maybe it was because of his good behaviour.

"There were the workers, they gave a lot of help to me. Sometimes, when I am not there, when I am out for practice, they make my food, and when I come to the hostel, they bring it to my room. They took care of me really well. I just love to talk the right things with the good people. I feel that's why they loved me."

From running for his life to now running the country's Test team, Chandimal's life has been a ride full of ups and downs.

Even as captain of the Sri Lankan Test team, Chandimal goes through the bumps regularly. He was handed over the side after Angelo Mathews decided he could not handle captaincy any more. Soon after, he watched as his side suffered a whitewash at home to India. He still has utmost confidence in his team, and says it has the right ingredients. Now his focus is on ensuring all the players play with freedom, to rid his team of any fears, or problems.

"It's really an honour and a privilege to be the captain of Sri Lanka cricket team. I came with a really hard youth, tough times. I had tough times, good times. As a captain and a player, I just want to give the good things for my players. I just want to take care of them as my brothers. If something happens on the outside, I just want to control that and give good freedom to the youngsters to perform well.

"I just want to, as a captain, take the responsibility or blame. Anything from the outside and I'll get that as a captain. I just want to be relaxed and not put any pressure on my players. That is what I wanted to do. Because I know the hard times, when it comes to you. Actually, once I got my Test captaincy, I said to the players, 'I just want unity first, then attitude, focus, discipline and passion'. That's what I am always discussing with players and staff."

Just like he did with his family, Chandimal always puts his team first. It's what he did when he was first made the captain too, in 2013.

"To be honest, I was struggling in 2014 with the pressure. Then after that I learnt a lot from that. How to handle the pressure. How to handle the people. How to handle players, how they're thinking and stuff. That gave me a lot of learning. Now, I can take more pressure, and give freedom to my players. 2013 was a tough time to captain the side, because in that time there were experienced players with a young side. I feel I handled it well. The thing is I didn't perform as a player, because I batted at number 6. In T20s, if you bat at number 6, you get only 2-3 overs. So you can't score big runs. You can get only 10-20 runs. As a captain, I had to open or bat at number 3, but I didn't want to do that.

"Because at that time, there was Kusal Janith (Perera). He was playing outstanding (cricket). So then I thought it is better to play Kusal as opener with Dilshan, there's a left-right hand opening combination. Then we had Mahela, then Sangakkara, then Angelo. I wanted to put the most experienced players in the first 10-15 overs. Then, myself at 6. I didn't think about myself, I just thought about the team. How to win. How to lift the World Cup for my mother country. So that's what I always think as a captain. I don't care about my performance, I don't care about my position. That's my first experience as captain in 2013-14.

Now Chandimal captains the Test side without any of the big names who were around in 2013. He's left shouldering the nation's hopes alongside an oft-injured and probably mentally-drained Mathews, and the ageing Rangana Herath. With the team failing to put up a fight, the task has only gotten harder for Chandimal.

"It's always hard, mate. Specially when you're losing games. There are so many questions, but if you're winning - no questions. When you are doing the right things, I feel we are doing so many bad mistakes. When we are not doing well, we don't do any mistakes. It's always tough. Maybe at the moment, we are like that. We are looking forward to get the good results in the future, within six months or one year.

"If you're playing international cricket, as a player, mental toughness is very important because these days, there's so much media and social media (pressure). Someone doesn't like you and they shout at you and stuff. As a player, you have to keep yourself mentally right and at the same time, you have to do your homework as a batsman or bowler."

In 2004, Dinesh Chandimal stood on a hill and watched in horror his house being flooded and then being washed away. He resolved to fight for his family and take care of them. He did that through his cricket. Even now, when he speaks to his parents, they credit him for putting them back on their feet. "They tell me every time I meet them, 'now we are in a good position, that's because of you.' And I say, 'No, not because of me, because of we all put our hard work in as a family. That's why we are here, not only because of me.'"

Now his goals have changed. In 2017, he stands as Sri Lanka's captain and watches as his side slips in one shocking performance after another. He again resolves to fight for his team, and take care of them. He must be the right man to take them forward. Because when you've seen, lost, won and lived through what he's seen, lost, won and lived through, fighting and succeeding is in your blood.