Tillakaratne Dilshan

Profile

Sanath Jayasuriya and Romesh Kaluwitharana were some of the great Sri Lankan legends whose careers took a U-turn once they started opening the innings. Following the same decision has proved fruitful for Tillakaratne Dilshan who, from a struggling middle-order batsman has become one of the most destructive opening batsmen in the modern era.

Dilshan’s professional career began in 1996 and within three years of his debut, he was selected to represent Sri Lanka in Tests. In only his 2nd Test, he scored a composed 163 against Zimbabwe. He made his ODI debut in the same year against the same opposition. However even after being granted numerous chances, he failed to impress and endured a miserable period between 2001 and 2003 when he was dropped on several occasions. Even after his comeback, Dilshan did little to inspire to confidence. In 2007-08, he was relegated to captaining the Sri Lanka ‘A’ side after he was dropped for Sri Lanka’s Test series in Australia. To prove his detractors wrong, Dilshan slammed 111, 78 and 31 in his three innings thus guiding his team to a 3-0 clean sweep over Zimbabwe. He was then recalled for the ODI series in Australia and scored 62 runs of just 59 balls opening the innings against India. But after failing in the next two games, he was demoted to the middle order where he was wasted till the next 11 months. Sangakkara, Vandort and Jayasuriya were tried during this period but they all failed, giving Dilshan a second chance to open the innings in a match against Pakistan in 2009.

Dilshan grabbed the bull by it horns and since then has become the first choice opener for Sri Lanka in all three formats. He now exhibits a self belief and confidence which was previously lacking in his game. He is ruthless in the power plays constantly attempting to clear the infield but has become much more sensible interspersing it with singles and two’s. He is the pioneer of the ‘Dilscoop’ - a shot where he paddles the ball over his own head in a typically unique style. A brilliant fielder, he is also a useful off-spinner. His transition has been such that he has been made Sri Lanka’s captain in ODI’s and T20’s on more occasions than one. Following Sangakkara’s resignation as Lankan skipper post the 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup, Dilshan was eventually handed over the captaincy in all three formats, before being replaced by teammate Mahela Jayawardena post their disastrous South Africa tour.

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Career

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