Sri Lanka Test captain Dinesh Chandimal produced a fighting century in his team’s first innings against India in the ongoing third Test in Delhi.

His 164 played a key role to stretch the game into the fifth day as India looked set for another easy win. The gritty knock won him many plaudits, but it was followed immediately by news that he was ignored for the ODI series against India.

Chandimal will instead be seen leading team Sri Lanka at the T10 Cricket League that will be held between December 14-17 in Sharjah.

The right-hand batsman has struggled for form in ODIs recently. His recent outing in the series against Pakistan in UAE saw him score just 41 runs from five games.

Chandimal, who will be hoping to earn his place back in the ODI team, was named captain of the team for the T10 League, by the Sri Lanka board which has decided to send an official team for the tournament.

Speaking to Gulf News, Vijay Vyas, one of the two owners of the team, said: “We’ve appointed Chandimal as he is a great leader in the longer format and we want to see how he can handle the team in this shortest format. Tried and tested players are always great to be seen in action, but you need a leader who can inspire youngsters to perform.”