Niroshan Dickwella, the skipper of Colombo Strikers in the 2023 Lanka Premier League, and head coach Simon Helmot, divulged to Sarah Waris the reason why Babar Azam was not named the skipper of the franchise and what it’s like to have him around.

Pakistan captain Babar Azam has already set the LPL on fire with a hundred in a stiff run-chase earlier this week, to become only the second men’s batter with 10 or more T20 centuries. Not a regular in T20 leagues across the world unlike his national teammates, Babar last represented an overseas franchise in 2017, for the Guyana Amazon Warriors in the CPL and the Sylhet Sixers in the BPL.

Yet, his decision to play in the LPL was not taken overnight. He was left pondering over the LPL and the Global T20 League in Canada, eventually choosing the former with World Cup in mind. His father convinced him that the wickets in Sri Lanka are similar to what are likely to be dished out for the World Cup in India later this year.

He has validated the decision by securing the top spot in the run-scorers list. With 235 runs in five innings, he is 74 runs clear of the second-placed Tim Seifert, and is the only batter to score a hundred this season. For the Strikers, Pathum Nissanka (128) and Nuwanidu Fernando (111) are the only others with more than 100 runs in the league.

Having led Pakistan in T20Is since 2019, Babar was expected to named captain of the franchise. However, he decided to focus solely on his batting, and hand over the role to Niroshan Dickwella instead. Dickwella has not played a T20I since 2021.

This is the first time in two years that Babar has played a T20 without leading. He last played without leading in the 2021 PSL, when Imad Wasim led Karachi Kings.

Babar was consulted before Dickwella’s appointment, Helmot told Wisden India: “Babar wanted Dickwella as the captain, and it was a very, very simple process for us after that. He’s so collaborative. He [Babar] looks after people, whether it is emotionally, mentally or technically. He is a great asset to have as a support mechanism on the side.”

Dickwella spoke about the his and Babar’s roles in the team: “I want to be in the top three run-scorers in the tournaments. That’s one of my goals. I’m enjoying captaincy but there’s a lot of responsibility. I have to put a lot of work into this: bat well, keep wickets and handle pressure.

“I’m enjoying my responsibility, especially in the middle with Babar. He’s helping me throughout the innings and we always make decisions together.”

Dickwella had led only four times in T20 cricket. His first outing as a full-time captain was for the Major Clubs T20 Tournament this year, when he led Nondescripts Cricket Club into the final that was eventually washed away.

Despite his limited exposure in leading a T20 side, he emphasised the importance of not getting intimidated by the presence of a star like Babar: “We both think in the same way. At the end of the day, I get ideas from everyone and then I try and make the right decision, according to what I feel. Just keep it simple.”

The Colombo skipper has made only 78 runs in the edition in three games but has struck at 169.56 – the second-best strike rate in the league.