Witchcraft helped us win against Pakistan, says Dinesh Chandimal

Indian cricket team had a perfect tour of Sri Lanka in July and August as they won three Test match series 3-0, five One Day International series 5-0 and sole T20I by seven wickets. After this one-sided loss, the Sri Lankan team visited UAE to play a full series against Pakistan where they started their campaign by thrashing Pakistan 2-0 in two-match Test series but failed to continue that sort of momentum in the limited-overs games. 

After returning back to the country, the Sri Lankan skipper disclosed that he had received a special blessing from a meyni, or sorcerer, ahead of the two-match series in the UAE.

“I am always ready to accept the blessings of anyone -- whether it is a meyni or any clergy,” Chandimal told reporters as quoted by AFP.

“You can have talent, but without this blessing, you can’t move forward.”

His statement came a week after Sri Lanka’s sports minister Dayasiri Jayasekara denied that he didn’t give any order to use witchcraft for the struggling national team. Jayasekara threatened to sue a shaman for claiming that at his request she had done the magic over Pakistan to ensure Sri Lanka’s victory.

In Sri Lanka, many politicians, business leaders, and sports stars trusted in witchcraft or astrology. Chandimal said that the sorcerer with whom he consulted was his friend’s mother, and he was willing to accept her blessings. But after the Test victory, Sri Lanka lost the one-day series 5-0 and also went down in a three-match T20 series.