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When Tillekeratne Dilshan approached his captain Mahela Jayawardene early this year and requested him to let him play as an opener, there was lot of scepticism whether the hard-hitting batsman would succeed against the new ball. But in less than a year, he smashed the fastest 50 for Sri Lanka in Tests, won the Player of the Series award at the ICC T-20 World Cup and on Friday was crowned as CEAT Cricketer of the Year at the inaugural awards presentation that Sri Lanka Cricket conducted.
And that’s not all, 11 months into the new role, he has replaced veteran Sanath Jayasuriya, a pillar in Sri Lankan cricket, as country’s number one opener and the 33-year-old has now targeted the ICC Cricketer of the Year award.
"With the opportunities I have got, I think I can do a lot. I am absolutely thrilled at becoming the CEAT Cricketer of the Year this year and picking up the ICC Player of the Year award would be a nice achievement and that will certainly be a huge milestone in my career. "
Dilshan also said that deciding to open the innings was the turning point of his career. "That’s probably the best decision I have taken as a cricketer. Since, then, I have been at the top of my game. Hopefully, I will be able to do even better in the games to follow and I certainly have a very good base at the moment," he added.
"I played at number six for nine years in ODIs. But the thing is, at number six you don’t get that many opportunities and your performances don’t get highlighted. You have to knock off those 30s and 40s in quick time in the death overs. You can get those runs in five or six games, but if you have two successive games without those scores, then you are under pressure."
For the upcoming three Test series against India, the selectors have only named one specialist opener, indicating Dilshan will fit in for the other opener’s slot. He opened against New Zealand and was an immediate success, smashing Sri Lanka’s fastest half-century in the first innings and went onto post a century in the second innings.
"I just got an opportunity to play in the first two Tests. I told the selectors and captain that this is not a natural position for me and I may take time to adjust. But what it has done is to help the team as well to get the combination that we want right. I have discussed with the captain and the selectors the issue and probably if it doesn’t work in Tests, I would go back to the number six position," he added.
Dilshan also praised the concept to conduct an annual awards ceremony to recognize the cricketers who have done well in that particular year. He also suggested that the organizers should bring in the under-19 players to the fold at the annual awards ceremony. "I thought it’s a fantastic concept. It’s not just the international cricketers who get recognized, but even the domestic cricketers. It certainly is a big encouragement and helps Sri Lankan cricket. The players also will try to raise the bar and it’s something the authorities should do consistently, not something to be done on and off. Apart from that, the under -19 level should be brought in as well. For them, to be recognized among country’s top cricketers will be a big achievement.
