Hadspen superstar Dilan Jayalath was able to finally put the icing on the cake on Thursday, receiving the Jason Savage Medal for TCL premier league's most valuable player.
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Named as the medal winner in April, officially receiving the award brought a smile to the 22-year-old's face after a tough few months.
Unable to return to Sri Lanka with the country's major airport closed due to the coronavirus pandemic, the star all-rounder was thrilled to receive his award.
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"Actually I'm so happy to have come here and I'm so happy with this - the medal," he said.
"To be called the best player in the competition, I'm so happy."
Having to change his flights twice already due to the airport closure, which is set to reopen on August 1, Jayalath is set to leave the state on June 22.
Unsure whether he will be back next year due to potential international commitments, the league's brightest thanked his Hadspen teammates for their support - especially president Corey Martin and wife, Erin, who have hosted him.
"The people are good, they look after me very well," he said.
Joining countryman Thanuka Dabare at the Chieftains for the 2019-20 season, Jayalath took the competition by storm, scoring 731 runs to take home the competition's batting aggregate and 18 wickets to earn him a spot in the team of the year.
Despite this, Jayalath said his start to the season wasn't ideal.
"The first five games were a bit hard because with astro, I'm not playing anything on an astro wicket [in Sri Lanka], so it was hard for the first games.
"After that, I took the rhythm and the bounce and was able to make runs straight away."
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