Vikum Sanjaya: From partnering Lasith Malinga for Sri Lanka to starting again in the UAE

Had life worked out a little differently for Vikum Sanjaya, he might have been preparing to play for Sri Lanka at the World Cup in India this week.

Instead, the Colombo-born bowler is one of a number of hopefuls chasing a contract in the DP World International League T20 in Dubai.

Back in 2017, he was plucked from Sri Lankan domestic cricket to tour South Africa and then Australia with the national team.

Opening the bowling with Lasith Malinga in a tour match in Canberra, he took three wickets and was player of the match.

He proceeded to play eight T20 internationals that year, including two against Pakistan in Abu Dhabi.

And yet he departed the scene as quickly as he had emerged. That set of games in 2017 represents his entire national career for his home country.

Now aged 31, he is targeting a second crack at the international game having relocated to the UAE.

“Unfortunately, I didn’t get chances in Sri Lanka, even though I was in very good form,” Sanjaya said.

“I was also drafted in the Lanka Premier League, but unfortunately no one picked me. I tried for two or three years to get back into the Sri Lanka national side, and after it didn’t happen my head went down.

“I decided I had to leave. I don’t know why I was dropped.”

Frustrated at his diminishing opportunities in his homeland, Sanjaya accepted an invitation to play in the Bukhatir League in Sharjah.

He impressed with a seven-wicket haul in the country’s premier 50-over competition and was welcomed into the fold of UAE domestic cricket.

Now he aspires to represent the national team once he is eligible under the ICC’s three-year residency criteria.

“All the time I was updating my Facebook but no one was giving me an answer,” he said.

“I was uploading my videos,