Tillakaratne Dilshan - 5 reasons why Sri Lanka Cricket will be poorer without him
Tillakaratne Dilshan sent shockwaves through the Sri Lanka cricket setup when he announced his retirement a couple of days ago. Dilshan, who matured over the course of his career from an inconsistent middle-order batsman to one of the most explosive openers the game has ever seen, was apparently reluctant to retire and was pressured into retirement, with the selectors looking to create a young side with the 2019 World Cup in mind.
Dilshan has announced his retirement from the ODI and T20 sides, having played his last Test in the autumn of 2013. Dilshan is one of the game’s favourite sons, the sort of cricketer that gets the crowd involved, on the edge of their seats, as he takes them on a rollercoaster ride.
As Dilshan calls curtains on a 17 year long international career, here are 5 reasons why his retirement is Sri Lanka Cricket’s loss:
1) Last member of Sri Lanka’s golden generation
Sri Lanka Cricket have had a number of household names over the years. While Arjuna Ranatunga, Aravinda Da Silva and Sanath Jayasuriya had carried the baton along with Chaminda Vaas and Muttiah Muralidharan at one point of time, the trio of Mahela Jayawardene, Kumar Sangakkara and Tillakaratne Dilshan were destructive at the peak of their career.
Mahela Jayawardene took his final bow after the 2015 World Cup and his good friend, Kumar Sangakkara joined him a couple of months later. Now with Dilshan’s retirement, the Sri Lankan batting order has an all new look to it. Dilshan was a big-match player, never afraid to perform on the biggest stage, never fazed by the poorest odds and Sri Lanka might struggle to cope with the loss.