Tillakaratne Dilshan has finally decided to end his career as a cricketer

Tillakaratne Dilshan has finally decided to end his career as a cricketer once and for all and according to him he will not want to be involved with the game he bestrode for over two decades any longer in whatever capacity.

“I have taken this decision after consultation with my family members. I think this is the right time for me to retire and I have no other ambitions of prolonging my career any further,”

Dilshan will make his final One-Day International appearance for his country in the third ODI against Australia at the Rangiri Dambulla Stadium on Sunday August 28 and his final T20 International appearance also against Australia at the R Premadasa Stadium on September 9.

“I want to catch up on the lost time with my wife and three kids and want to give them the best of fatherhood which they may have missed by my being away from home with the Sri Lanka team,” Dilshan said.

The 39-year-old right-handed opener retired from Test cricket in March 2013 and concentrated on playing One-Day Internationals and T20 Internationals. He said at the time that he would call it quits when he no longer enjoys the game.

It seems the time has arrived for him to take a final decision on his career. Dilshan’s current form would also have been a factor towards his final decision. He scored 22 and 10 in the first two ODIs played at the R Premadasa Stadium coming out of a knee injury which he sustained during practice. He also missed Sri Lanka’s last ODI and T20I series in England citing “personal reasons”.

Chief selector Sanath Jayasuriya said that he and his committee were unaware of Dilshan’s decision to retire as they had already picked him to play in the third and fourth ODIs in Dambulla.

“We picked the side during the second ODI and we learnt of Dilshan’s decision only yesterday,” said Jayasuriya.

He denied that there was any pressure brought on Dilshan to retire. “The decision he took was purely his own, we were keen to play him.”

Paying a tribute to a former team mate Jayasuriya said, “Dilshan was truly a great all-rounder for Sri Lanka. He could bat, bowl, field and even keep wickets very rarely do you find a cricketer who is so versatile in every department. What is so great about him is his commitment to perform well even at this late age. Sri Lanka cricket will certainly miss him.”

Will Dilshan be lost to cricket forever?

“I have no plans to play any further cricket or be involved with cricket. It’s a decision that I have taken,” said Dilshan.

“Although I am not considering taking up any positions connected to cricket or play cricket of any format my name I am sure will remain in the game as the inventor of the ‘Dilscoop’,” he said.

The ‘Dilscoop’ became famous during the ICC World T20 in England in 2009 when Dilshan used it frequently to become the leading run-getter in the tournament with 317 runs (avg. 52.83) and a top score of 96 not out – a performance that took his team to the final against Pakistan at Lord’s and gave him the Man of the Series award.

According to Dilshan he started practicing this stroke against a bowling machine during his tenure with Delhi Daredevils in the 2009 Indian Premier League (IPL) held in South Africa. It was used so successfully by Dilshan during the World T20 that former Australian captain Ian Chappell who commentating during the tournament aid that he had never seen any batsman play the ball straight over the wicket-keeper’s head as Dilshan does.

Dilshan appeared for Sri Lanka in 97 Tests 11 of which he captained and in 329 ODIs (26 as captain). He also captained in five of 78 T20 Internationals he has played to-date.

Making his ODI debut in December 1999 in Zimbabwe, Dilshan turned out to be one of the most successful cricketers in the shorter format scoring over 10,000 runs and capturing over 100 wickets. He is also one of the few batsmen to score over 1000 runs in T20Is and also a century. He made 1000 ODI runs in a calendar year on four occasions, the last one being in 2015 when he amassed 1207 at an average of 52.47.

Despite his age Dilshan remains one of the best fielders in world cricket especially at his pet position at cover point where he has brought off numerous catches and saved several runs for his team. His best performance on the field was during the VB final against Australia at Adelaide in 2006 when he ran out four batsmen with some slick fielding that enabled Sri Lanka defend a target of 275 and win by 22 runs.

Sri Lanka Cricket in a media release stated that they would dedicate the third ODI between Sri Lanka and Australia to be played at Dambulla Stadium on Sunday to honour Dilshan for his invaluable contribution to the game and country.

“I together with my committee wish to extend our sincere appreciation and wish him the very best in his future endeavors,” said Sri Lanka Cricket president Thilanga Sumathipala.