He may be unwanted for the Sri Lanka cricket team despite leading the side to win the T20 World Cup in 2014, but Dinesh Chandimal is a man with a head above his shoulders and produced a golden act by presenting his school with an indoor practice Facility that many schools can only dream of in an age of high profile competition.
Dinesh Chandimal plays some shots at the opening of the indoor nets (Pic by Wimal Karunatilleke)
Last Sunday he went back to the academy where he learnt his cricket, Dharmasoka College in Ambalangoda, to present the less privileged kids there with the fully equipped practice facility built with his own funds at a cost of Rs.20 million.
Chandimal is no staranger to charitable acts and his noble deed not only turned some heads but also nudged some of his high earning team-mates to do more for their respective schools that made them what they are today.
“I have shown my gratitude to my school Dharmasoka and will never forget my home town coaches and teachers,” said Chandimal as he addressed the invitees among them Ranjith Pandithage, the chairman of Diesel and Motor Engineering who graced the occasion that became a reality in just 35 days that Chandimal needed to contruct the Facility thanks to the support of army engineers.
Modest and unassuming in nature, Chandimal had no qualms in naming the Facility in honour of Pandithage who he said gave him a big hand with a job and residence to continue his cricket after he left Ananda College in Colombo where he graduated after crossing over from Dharmasoka.
He said that not only Dharmasoka but also two other schools in Ambalangoda, Sri Devananda College and P de Silva Kularatne College will benefit from the practice Facility which was officially named the Ranjith Pandithage Indoor Cricket Stadium.
