Sunil Saluwadana, the man who discovered T.M. Dilshan, the present Sri Lanka cricket captain feels that the aggressive opener deserves another chance to prove himself as a leader. Saluwadana, a veteran coach with over 25 years of experience at school and club level in Sri Lanka revealed that Dilshan had the leadership qualities but his appointment as a captain probably came at the wrong time.
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| A breathtaking angle of Dilshan’s innovative ‘Dilscoop’. |
“Dilshan is a character who can take up any challenge. This much I know about him since he was an 11-year-old kid. But leading a country is not an easy task. He should be strong to lead players from different walks of life. He was appointed at a time when Sri Lanka faced a period of descent, an unusual form for an attacking team like Sri Lanka. It’s a mystery to many including me.
Many players were not at their best and it is natural for anyone who takes over the leadership to be under pressure. More the side slid into defeat he was under terrific pressure. That probably hurt his form altogether,” Saluwadana said.
Saluwadana who spotted Dilshan as a ten-year-old when he played cricket with his friends with a make shift piece of wood as a bat during school hours, revealed that Dilshan was a gifted young boy who was good at almost everything.
“He was a good football player before I invited him for cricket practices. He would have been between 10 or 11 at that time and I told him that I had the gut feeling that a bright future awaits him. He turned up for practices without hesitance”.
Saluwadana served as coach of Kalutara Vidyalaya from 1988 for 24 years before taking a brief break and rejoining as Dilshan’s former school’s head coach again last year. He recalled the first instance when he saw Dilshan: “At Kalutara Vidyalaya there was a tradition of playing cricket during brief breaks and intervals. It was at such a period that I spotted Dilshan.”
According to the coach Dilshan picked up the game quickly. He was a leading figure among juniors as he was all over in the field helping his skipper or guiding the team during junior games. At a very early age Dilshan had replaced the regular wicketkeeper of the Kalutara Vidyalaya first XI team and held on to the position for many years.
But as Saluwadana recollected Dilshan had a big target which was to reach the cricket pinnacle. The setback had been his family background. Dilshan was the elder of two brothers and two sisters who came from a simple middle class family of six. His father was a sergeant of Sri Lanka Police who played top level football and the family survived on his income alone. Despite financial problems his parents were very keen followers of Dilshan and his brother T.N. Sampath who continues to play first class cricket in Sri Lanka.
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| Sunil Saluwadana who spotted footballer T.M. Dilshan when he was just 10 and turned him into a cricketer. |
“It was evident that he was bound to reach the top. He had something extraordinary in him. He captained the Under-15 team under me and played Under-17. He developed his skills and played Under-19 cricket for two years but he quit the first XI team prematurely. I was worried then. I was relieved when he was offered a job by Ana Punchihewa. I remember he was just 15 when he hit a cracking century against Galle Cricket Club at an Under-23 match for Kalutara Town Club. To hit a century at that age is not an easy task The indication of a future international player was there in him since he was a toddler,” the modest coach who continues to spot the skills of young cricketers from rural areas added.
After playing at different levels Dilshan moved to Colombo and joined Bloomfield. Before that he played for Kalutara Town Club, a cricket club based in his home town, Singha Sports Club and Sebastianites Cricket Club. Dilshan made his Test debut against Zimbabwe with a memorable 163 in 1999. After being pushed up and down the order without a permanent slot. Dilshan remained in and out of the Sri Lanka team for many years. It was in 2003 that he earned a permanent place and went on to 12 Test centuries during his international career which now spans 12 years. His natural style of aggressive play had been Dilshan’s trademark right throughout.Dilshan was appointed captain in April 2011 soon after Kumar Sangakkara stepped down after the World Cup. Dilshan’s term as skipper was set until end of 2011, after the tour of South Africa. Saluwadana feels that having confidence in Dilshan is important as brushing up his leadership qualities.
“He may continue or maybe dropped as the skipper. But what I feel is that he had this added pressure as the skipper. That was the reason for his drop in form. The win in South Africa was vital for Dilshan, after a chain of defeats in Tests. He continued to crack 78 the other day though he got out in an unacceptable manner. But it’s important to give him more time. I think he will change and will become more responsible as a skipper.” After repeated failures Sri Lanka beat South Africa by 208 runs in the second Test after losing the first encounter by innings. Sri Lanka recorded their first Test win after 16 games and this was one of the most successful comebacks they made in Tests in recent times. Soon after Sri Lanka’s thumping win Dilshan had made it a point to telephone his guru from South Africa.
“Soon after the Test win in Durban he called me and I congratulated him. He was delighted and told me that the team is in great spirits and will never concede a series to South Africa. I too was thrilled by the win and how he would have felt as the skipper. It’s not easy winning a Test against South Africa in South Africa,” an elated Saluwadana said.
But a contrasting outcome awaited at the third and final Test at Cape Town where South Africa repeated their dominance to seal the series 2-1 after handing Sri Lanka a 10-wicket defeat within four days. Veteran coach Saluwadana was still baffled by the unpredictable form by the Sri Lanka cricketers in the longer version of the game.
“The team is not doing well as a unit apart from individual performances by a player or two. But I think they are gradually clicking well as a team. Slight mishaps by players here and there are obvious and it’s part and parcel of the sport. Sri Lanka will be privileged to have someone talented to take over the leadership at this time. If not it’s Dilshan who should continue as skipper. I think he will become a better captain. He needs a little more time.”
“My feeling is that he should continue to bat his own way as an aggressive opener. I remember the opening combination of Sanath Jayasuriya and Marvan Atapattu in Tests for Sri Lanka during an era when Marvan used to defend from one end and Sanath used to whip from the other end. What lacks today is a suitable opener to partner Dilshan. Different styled openers can put the opponents under pressure. He is a freestyle batsman and I don’t think he will or should ever change his style,” added Saluwadana but went on to say that he was not happy at the way Dilshan got out in the first innings of the third Test at Cape Town. Saluwadana revealed that Dilshan still consults him every now and then when he is out of form or when he has doubts. Recently Dilshan had called his former coach to overcome a doubtful pattern in batting against spinners despite being an attacking player and an international icon.
“He continues to contact me. What he said soon after taking over the captaincy was that the services Mutiah Muralitharan and Cahminda Vass who were match winners for Sri Lanka is not eternal. He understood that one day even without himself, Sri Lanka cricket has to move on. His aim is to lead the side to the pinnacle and what seems to lack here is his batting form which makes Dilshan what he is today.” |
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