Sri Lankan cricket mourns death of Jack of all Trade

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Last year as Kumar Sangakkara unleashed a new array of strokes, that were never seen from him before, during the first ODI against Proteas at the R. Premadasa Stadium, it came to light that the star batsman had been working with coach Graham Ford on paddle sweeping and reverse sweeping off medium pacemen. That day Sanga hammered a career best 169.

Sanga and Ford got all the accolades for pulling off some sensational results, but the man who spent many hours seasoning Sanga’s bat for those strokes to win the admiration of all fans remained unknown for many.

On Tuesday, P. D. Nimal was killed after an accident and Sri Lankan cricketers have been mourning his death with unbearable sorrow. Nimal wasn’t just someone who seasoned players’ bats. He was the Jack of all trade and master of all of them too.  In Indian cinema, there’s no role that was impossible for Kamal Hasan and similarly no role was impossible for Nimal in Sri Lankan cricket.

Mahela Jayawardene mourning his death tweeted; ‘It’s an extremely sad day for me and the team. Nimal who did everything for us from handling our bags to cleaning our pads passed away. No one has done more for us. My heart is truly broken.’

That tweet summed up the mood in Sri Lankan camp.

Nimal was the dressing room attendant at SSC and his efficiency and hard work made him popular among the members of the national cricket team and during home series and when the team prepared for a tour he worked with the national team.

He came into the set up when Arjuna Ranatunga was the captain and worked with seven other Test captains after that. All of them had nothing but high praise for him.

From cleaning players’ cricket equipment to packing them in their bags nicely, Nimal’s efficiency earned him many friends among cricketers. As Sanath Jayasuriya put it, ‘there wasn’t a thing that he couldn’t do’.

Fondly he was called as the team’s Assistant Fielding Coach as Nimal took an active part during fielding drills. The players required his help for throw downs and he obliged without any complaints.

Nimal had just completed his house after years of hard work, but before he could settle down his life was taken away.