Dilshan is he the answer?

Sports

Tillakaratne Dilshan the swashbuckling right hander with a wide array of brilliant shots has suddenly caught the imagination of the cricketing public all over the world, with his all round efforts on the field of cricket.

From an attacking batsman who could give you the occasional big score with the bat, Dilshan has now taken on a more serious and a critical role in the fortunes of Sri Lanka cricket. i.e opening and taking on the quickest of bowlers at the top of the innings and even playing the ‘Dilscoop’ in the most arrogant fashion!

As it stands it appears that his fairytale performance or the honeymoon is continuing merrily and it’s hoped that it would go on for a very long period of time as the longer it goes on it will be the better for Sri Lanka and the game of cricket as a whole.

Sri Lanka's Tillakaratne Dilshan hits a scoop shot during their first Twenty20 cricket match against New Zealand. -REUTERS

It will draw many more spectators to the game making it richer and much sought after.
Looking back at the career of Dilshan it has been a roller coaster. Experiencing both the highs and the lows and mostly I would say somewhere in between and not doing justice to the God gifted natural talent.

However with the T 20 coming through and the last IPL we have witnessed a completely new model of Dilshan. To begin with taking the challenge of opening and succeeding was a tough call and only the real brave one’s will be willing to embark on such a voyage putting their future on the line. It could have very well been the end-of-the-road if Dilshan had failed as an opener and he would have definitely had to fight to keep his place intact in the side. But as we all know confidence is a huge factor in a sportsman’s life and for Dilshan all he needed was that.

Given the license to do what he knows doing best and that is to smash the ball around and score runs quickly, Dilshan has given Sri Lanka something to cheer about at the top as we don’t see the great Sanath Jayasuriya going on for too long at least not after the Cricket World Cup in 2011. With the Sri Lankan’s used to that style of attacking batsmanship at the top from the Master Blaster Jayasuriya himself, his retirement from the game when it eventually happens would have meant a completely new overhaul to the Sri Lankan game plan. Having said that it appears that Dilshan’s new approach has come almost at the correct time as many combinations tried by the Sri Lankan selectors hadn’t paid the dividend it was wanting.

Opening the batting or keeping wickets or doing anything with a round shaped object called a ball comes naturally to Dilshan. Having tried his hand at soccer at a very young age he decided that Cricket after all was his game, opening or bowling off spin or keeping wickets has been a piece of cake for him. Hence his transformation of those talents to the national team was not only welcome but long overdue too.

His versatility has given Sri Lanka a huge amount of flexibility in the team. The options available to them are plenty. For example Dilshan could either open the batting or be at the vital no 6 or keep wickets and if not simply bowl off-spinners and get you the key wicket like he did on the fifth day of the second Test with Oram’s wicket, or just bowl a tight spell and keep things under control. If nothing of that sort happens his brilliant and lightning fast fielding can in a very short time change the complexion of the game either with a breathtaking catch or an equally brilliant run out! He is what you call the complete player any captain would want to have on his current form.

So where does Dilshan and Sri Lanka go from here? We all know that as long as the going is good things are fine but come the bad times the heads will roll and heads will be on the chopping line! For me Dilshan is too good to face such a situation. He is such a fine player that he should be persisted with in every form of the game giving him the support and encouragement all the time. Maybe who knows with his very fine fitness level he may possibly be able to carry on long enough and also lead Sri Lanka in a few years when Sangakkara decides he has had enough.That’s the package T.M. Dilshan has on offer for Sri Lanka cricket. That is what he brings to the game of cricket. The man of many talents and ability! A man Sri Lanka cricket needs badly at this hour!

Roshan Abeysinghe is a leading cricket promoter and an international cricket commentator

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