Sri Lanka wicketkeeper and batsman Niroshan Dickwella - currently facing England in their latest overseas test series – spoke to Passion for Sport a while back about his Christian faith, how his beliefs help him in his performance, and a very special tattoo …
Niroshan recalls his sporting hero when growing up was the cricketing legend Kumar Sangakkara – “He was my role model because he was a wicket-keeper, he was left-handed and went to my school as well, he’s from Kandy. That made me follow him and I had number 11, his jersey number when I was playing for the Sri Lanka Under 19’s. Eventually I had to change my number because I played with him!”
His Christian faith has been his driving force since he was a child: “My father was a Buddhist but my mother a Christian, so I was baptised when I was small. I went to Church and learnt about Jesus at Sunday school. As Christians know, when you get baptised, my parents pledged to help me and then I will take over from my parents. Since then Jesus has helped me throughout my career.”
And a very special tattoo on his arm of the Bible verse Philippians 4: 13 is a constant reminder that Jesus is with him in his chosen career: “I got this tattoo a few years ago and I see it every time that I go out to bat. No one would believe me, but I say a small prayer to Jesus before I face every single ball when I bat. When I feel uncomfortable out in the middle, I just look at this verse and I then feel confident, I feel like I have Jesus next to me.”