Biography of Tillakaratne Dilshan;- Tillakaratne Dilshan was born on 14th October 1976 in Kalutara, Sri Lanka. An incredible talent he is, Tillakaratne Dilshan is only one of the breed. He is stylish, aggressive, and a genuine all-rounder in every sense.
He can bowl, he bat well, and can keep wicket in any format of the game. Dilshan emerged as an exciting talent when promoted from the lower middle order to the first positions with Senath and then Sangakkara.
Also regarded as the most innovative cricketer in history, Tillakaratne Dilshan had always been on the move with his classy flicks and wristy sixes. TM Dilshan is the only captain to score a century in all the formats of cricket.
Biography of Tillakaratne Dilshan
- Born:- 14 October 1976 (age 40), Kalutara, Sri Lanka
- Spouse:- Manjula Thilini (m. 2008)
- ODI Debut:- 11 December 1999 v Zimbabwe
- Current Teams:- Sri Lanka national cricket team (#23)
- Siblings:- Tillakaratne Sampath
- Children:- Resadu Tillakaratne, Resandi Linama Tillakaratne, Dihela Dinhath Tillakaratne, Lasadi Dihasansa Tillakaratne
He was a man of theseries in the ICC T20 World Cup 2009 for his efficacious batting and who can forget the splendiddilscoop shots throughout the World Cup.
See Also: Biography of Mahela Jayawardene
Dilshan was a batsman made for limited over’s cricket, he was the second Sri Lankan to receive the T20 cap. After his T20i debut in 2006, Tillakaratne Dilshan was all of the T20 formats. He was the first one to adopt the newer form, Dilshan’s career had been on a roller coaster, but it ended the way it should’ve been.
He was the fourth Sri Lankan and eleventh player overall to surpass 10,000 ODI runs. Most of Dilshan’s career was spent playing ODI and T20 cricket, he had 87 test matches. Still, the key influences vested in the limited-overs format.
Tillakaratne Dilshan Stats & Records
A right-hand batsman and an off-break bowler with exceptional wicket keeping skills, a talent hard to ignore came in the ODI and Test squad in 1999 in Zimbabwe tour. His career consisted 17 years from 1999 to 2016.
In 87 test games, Dilshan scored 5492 runs with a great average of 40.98 as an opening batsman most of the time this included 16 hundred and 23 half-centuries with the highest score of 193 runs.
In the bowling department, Dilshan couldn’t bowl regularly as he kept stumps most of the times. However, Dilshan managed to grab 39 batsmen in his test career, his best bowling figures were 4/10 along with 88 overall catches.
Apart from wicket keeping, Tillakaratne Dilshan was the most athletic batsman in Sri Lankan cricket team; he had the responsibility to the field at point, thanks to his athleticism.
In 330 ODIs, Dilshan was the fourth Sri Lankan to score 10,000+ runs with an average of 39.27 in batting. Among his 22 centuries and 47 fifties, 21 centuries came off when he is batting at the opening position.
Tillakaratne Dilshan took 106 wickets, and 123 catches with a single stumping. His best bowling figures were 4/4, his highest score was 161 not out in ODIs. In 80 T20 Internationals, Dilshan had 1889 runs in total with a fantastic batting average of 28.19, a single century and 13 half-centuries.
His highest score was 104 not out with 9 wickets in the pocket, the best figures being 2/4, 31 catches and 2 stampings.
Overall, in 233 first-class games, Tillakaratne Dilshan amassed 13,979 runs with an average 38.83 and the highest score of 200 not out, the total centuries count to 38 with 59 half-centuries.
International Career
Dilshan played his first Test and ODI game against Zimbabwe, he managed to pass the test against the weaker opposition, and his 163 not out in the second test paved his way to permanently settle in the 15-men squad.
For the first few seasons of an International career, Tillakaratne Dilshan batted at lower middle order but never got a chance to make full use of his skills.
Later in 2007, Dilshan opened the innings for the first time with Senath Jayasuriya. The experiment proved successful as Dilshan was aggressive to the bowlers in the first 10 overs and with Senath Jayasuriya on the other side, the combinationseemed perfect as Sri Lanka craved for so many years.
In ICC World T20 2009, Dilshan was the most exciting batsman in the tournament for his incredible unorthodox shots. In ICC World Cup 2011, Dilshan was having a form of his lifetime, Sri Lanka proceeded to the final match and lost it to India.
Tillakaratne Dilshan was the highest run-scorer, his 500 runs in 9 games were highest ever with 2 centuries and 2 half-centuries.
After the successful World Cup campaign co-hosted by Sri Lanka, Sangakkara forfeited as a captain. There is no one better than TM Dilshan to replace Sanga at that moment. Dilshan was forced by the Sri Lankan Cricket Board to lead Sri Lanka for a shorter tenure that prolonged from the decided period.
He had rough relations with the fellow cricketers, he wasn’t supported much by cricket fans. After the World Cup 2011, Dilshan became the 5th cricketer to score century in all formats of the game by scoring an unbeaten 104 against the Aussies in a T20i match.
The captaincy made him a weaker batsman in Test cricket, he decided to retire from test format in 2013 after the test series against Bangladesh.
In ICC World Cup 2015, Dilshan’s highest ODI score i.e. 161 not out came against Bangladesh in a group stage game. In the same tournament, Tillakaratne Dilshan also completed his 100th wicket.
He bashed six 4s in an over to Mitchell Johnson being the first batsman to do so in ICC World Cup history. After World Cup 2015, Dilshan reached 10 thousand ODI runs in a match against Pakistan.
Dilshan continued his form in T20 Internationals and Cricket leagues alike. He became the highest T20 run-scorer for Sri Lanka and third-highest overall.
Tillakaratne Dilshan contested in his last ICC event in ICC World T20 2016, he scored 83 runs not out against Afghanistan, and he was the highest run-scorer for Sri Lanka in the tournament.
Post-Retirement Career
After retirement, Tillakaratne Dilshan tried his luck in politics, he openly supported Rajapaksa, a presidential candidate in the 2015 Presidential Elections in Sri Lanka. In the same year, he was also appointed as the brand ambassador for awareness programs relating kidney diseases.
Tillakaratne Dilshan in IPL
Dilshan joined Indian Premier League franchise Delhi Daredevils as a result of the3-year contract. He was made captain for the second season due to the absence of Virender Sehwag.
In 2010 season, he shortly associated with Northern Districts club in New Zealand. In 2011, Tillakaratne Dilshan was redrafted and bought by Royal Challengers Bangalore from 2011-2013.
Later he had a season with Dhaka Gladiators in 2013 and later as an opening batsman for Sydney Thunders in Big Bash League 2014.
Derbyshire hired Dilshan for 2013 summer season. In 2015, Tillakaratne Dilshan played a full season of Bangladesh Premier League 2015. In 2017, Peshawar Zalmi drafted Dilshan as the supplementary player for the season.
Tillakaratne Dilshan Family & Personal Life
Dilshan’s father was a Muslim while his mother was a Buddhist. He remained a Muslim officially with the name Tuwan Muhammad Dilshan before his parents separated.
He became Tillakaratne Dilshan afterward. Dilshan’s first marriage with Nilanka Vithanage failed from which they had a boy named Resadu Tillakaratne.
Dilshan married a Sri Lankan actress Manjula Thilini in 2008. As of now, Tillakaratne Dilshan is blessed with two daughters and a son from his second wife. Dilshan created his fashion line Dil Scoop, courtesy to his innovative scoop shot.
