Tillakaratne Dilshan alleges he did not receive support from Sri Lanka team during his captaincy
Tillakaratne Dilshan, one of the last remaining cricketers from the 1990s, has called for curtains to be drawn on his 17-year career. In the press conference after his final ODI against Australia on Sunday, he revealed some surprising details about the period when he had been captain of the national team.
He cast aspersions on the lack of support given to him from the dressing room during his short captaincy stint between 2011 and 2012, especially citing how Angelo Mathews had not taken up bowling duties at that time at all, but had immediately started to bowl a lot more after Dilshan was replaced as captain.
“I didn't actually plan to take the captaincy, but the SLC president asked me to take over for six months until we find someone else," Dilshan said. "Unfortunately, we had also lost two bowlers. Murali [Muttiah Muralitharan] had retired. Nuwan Kulasekara was injured. Ajantha Mendis was injured. I didn't have great resources.
“Angelo Mathews had a calf injury for a year that stopped him from bowling. That must be because of my misfortune, because after I had stepped down, we went to Australia after a week. In that week, Mathews started bowling. That must be because of Mahela's good fortune."
Dilshan also spoke about the circumstances in which he had been made the Sri Lanka captain. After the 2011 World Cup, nobody had wanted to take up the captaincy, with both Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara turning the role down. Even in the year afterwards, captaincy was not an enviable task, as seen by the reluctance of all senior players to fill in for Dilshan even when he was injured.
“There actually wasn't anyone who was willing to be captain. Everyone resigned after the 2011 World Cup. In England a ball hit my hand and I broke my finger, and the former captains were asked to lead, and they said no.”
Was hurt but did not let personal things get in way: Dilshan
Dilshan said that he was hurt at how he was treated in terms of being used as a makeshift captain, but insists that he did not ever get this hurt affect his service for the team. Statistics prove this – In the 2012 tri-series in Australian, Sri Lanka’s first assignment after Dilshan’s removal as captain, he was the top scorer of the tournament, with 513 runs at an average of 51.3.
Dilshan said, “At the end of that South Africa series, I put everything aside. I went to Australia, scored 500 runs, and became Man of the Series. It didn't matter to me who was captain. I wasn't concerned about who ousted me as captain. I always play for my country. I didn't worry about those personal things, but I was hurt."
“But I am proud that it is players that I brought into the team at the time who are winning matches now. About six or seven of the players today are cricketers who I'd given a chance to. At the time it was a problem for me, because people asked me why I was giving young players so many opportunities. But today, we should look at players like Dinesh Chandimal."
“To be honest I could easily play for another year or two. But we have to look to the future. If I play for another two years and leave, there's only 18 months before the next World Cup and that's unfair to the team. A young player could be blooded in that time. Since I started opening six years ago, we haven't found a permanent partner for me. I've opened with about 10 people - so that's a problematic area for us. If I keep playing we won't be able to get two batsmen settled in that place. I'll be able to get some rest."
Dilshan has been one of the greatest servants of Sri Lanka cricket ever, but has mostly remained under the shadows of Jayawardene and Sangakkara. He was not the most popular captain, and had often been seen shouting and reacting angrily with his bowlers. Maybe this is something that can explain why Mathews did not bowl in 9 of 20 ODIs and 12 of 16 Test innings that Dilshan was leading Sri Lanka.
These latest accusations Dilshan has subtly come up with explain somewhat how he has been regarded in the dressing room throughout his career – a hard taskmaster who gives his all and is disappointed whenever he sees somebody not doing the same.
As Harsha Bhogle pointed out, Dilshan leaves the game having captained, kept wickets, batted, bowled and fielded, and also with a shot named after him – not many legends of the game can lay claim to this rare tag.