Tillakaratne Dilshan      

Tillakaratne Dilshan burst onto to the international scene with an unbeaten 163 against Zimbabwe in his first series during November 1999. Technically sound, comfortable against fast bowling, possessed of quick feet, strong wrists and natural timing, Dilshan has talent in abundance. But the bright start to his career was followed by a frustrating 15 months when he was shovelled up and down the order, and in and out of the side. After a lean series against England in 2001 he was dumped until a one-day and Test return in 2003. He came back mentally stronger and determined to play his own natural aggressive game. The approach was immediately successful with a string of good scores against England and Australia in ...

Tillakaratne Dilshan burst onto to the international scene with an unbeaten 163 against Zimbabwe in his first series during November 1999. Technically sound, comfortable against fast bowling, possessed of quick feet, strong wrists and natural timing, Dilshan has talent in abundance. But the bright start to his career was followed by a frustrating 15 months when he was shovelled up and down the order, and in and out of the side. After a lean series against England in 2001 he was dumped until a one-day and Test return in 2003. He came back mentally stronger and determined to play his own natural aggressive game. The approach was immediately successful with a string of good scores against England and Australia in 2003 and 2004. He has continued to be a steady influence in the middle order of the Test side with good years in 2005 (average 56.50 after nine Tests) and 2007 (average 60 after four Tests). He has also been an important member of the one-day team with his aggressive batting in the middle order complemented by his electric fielding, especially at backward point, and underrated off spin. These all-round skills ensured he was signed by the Delhi Daredevils for the inaugural IPL in 2008. He was, however, dropped from the ODI side in September 2008 after a relatively lean run that saw his 2008 average slip to 25.87 in 21 matches. When he returned in early 2009 he was promoted to open in the one-dayers, a move that could be the making of him, and he produced sparkling form in all forms of the game. And, during the 2009 ICC World Twenty20, he created the game's latest invention with an astonishing flick-shot over his head which became the talk of the cricket world. Though Sri Lanka finished runners-up in the tournament, Dilshan deservedly picked up the Player-of-the-Series award after amassing 317 runs at an average of 52.83.
Charlie Austin June 2009