Tillakaratne Dilshan

Tillakaratne Mudiyanselage Dilshan (born 14 October 1976), commonly known as TM Dilshan, is a former Sri Lankan cricketer and a former captain of the Sri Lanka national cricket team. An aggressive right-handed opening batsman, occasional off-break bowler and an agile fielder, Dilshan is widely regarded as one of the most innovative players of his generation. He is credited with inventing the Dilscoop, a stroke played over the wicketkeeper's head, which has since become part of modern cricket's vocabulary.

Key Facts

Background and Style

Dilshan is considered a rare all-round cricketer, with notable skills in batting, bowling, fielding and wicketkeeping. He typically fielded in the point region and was known for his energetic presence on the field. As a batsman, he combined orthodox stroke-making with inventive shot selection, the most famous of which is the Dilscoop.

In the early phase of his career, Dilshan batted at numbers 6 and 7 and was often considered an ordinary player in comparison with senior teammates such as Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara. His career was transformed once he was promoted to open the innings, after which he scored 21 ODI centuries along with all of his Test and T20I hundreds.

International Career

Debut and Early Years

Dilshan made his Test and One Day International debuts during Sri Lanka's tour of Zimbabwe in 1999. He went on to become the second player capped by Sri Lanka in Twenty20 Internationals when the format was introduced.

Rise as an Opener

Promotion to the top of the order coincided with the most prolific phase of his career. Dilshan scored 1,000 or more ODI runs in a calendar year on four occasions and never tallied fewer than 800 runs in any calendar year between 2009 and 2015.

2009 ICC World Twenty20

At the 2009 ICC World Twenty20 in England, Dilshan played a defining tournament. He scored 96 off 57 balls against the West Indies in the semi-final and was named the Player of the Tournament. He also won the Twenty20 International Performance of the Year award at the 2009 ICC Awards. Sri Lanka reached the final of the tournament.

2011 Cricket World Cup

Dilshan was the leading run-scorer of the 2011 Cricket World Cup with 500 runs, including a century against England in the quarter-final. Sri Lanka reached the final of the tournament.

2014 ICC World Twenty20

Dilshan was a key member of the Sri Lanka side that won the 2014 ICC World Twenty20, the country's first ICC global title in his era of involvement. He was also part of the Sri Lankan teams that reached the finals of the 2007 Cricket World Cup and the 2012 ICC World Twenty20.

Captaincy

Dilshan captained Sri Lanka across formats and is the first cricketer in the history of the game to score hundreds in all three international formats while serving as captain.

Retirement

In August 2016, Dilshan announced that he would retire from both ODI and T20I cricket at the end of Sri Lanka's series against Australia. He retired from ODI cricket on 28 August 2016 and from T20I cricket on 9 September 2016.

Records and Significance

• Fourth Sri Lankan, and eleventh player overall, to score 10,000 ODI runs.
• Third player overall, and first Sri Lankan, to score 1,500 runs in Twenty20 Internationals.
• First player to hit 200 fours in T20Is.
• Often regarded as the best rated Sri Lankan player in ODI run-chases.
• Inventor of the Dilscoop.
• First captain to score centuries in all three formats of international cricket.

Related Topics

• Sri Lanka national cricket team
• Dilscoop
• 2011 Cricket World Cup
• 2014 ICC World Twenty20
• Mahela Jayawardene
• Kumar Sangakkara

References

• Tillakaratne Dilshan – English Wikipedia
• Wikidata item: Q2724503