Tillakaratne Dilshan moves to Australia; makes return to the field for a local club

Tillakaratne Dilshan was an integral part of the Sri Lankan cricket team during his active time as a cricketer. He opened the innings for the islanders and used to get them to fliers. Besides, Dilshan also bowled right-arm off-spin for the team. 

His boundary-scoring abilities were unmatched and he also made the Dilscoop shot popular. Fans will remember Dilshan as one of the best Sri Lankan cricketers of all time. The Sri Lankan all-rounder retired from all formats of the game a few years ago and then tried his luck in politics. 

However, he later shifted to Australia and made his return to the field earlier this week for Premier club Casey South-Melbourne. He practiced for the match and scored a half-century. His captain Michael Wallace stated after the match that Dilshan informed him he felt a bit rusty ahead of his return to the ground. Still, Dilshan ended with a 40-ball half-century. 

“That's a good sign for us if his first hit for us when he’s ‘rusty’ is 50 off 40,” Wallace told cricket.com.au. 

Interestingly, T Dilshan’s former Sri Lankan teammate Suraj Randiv was a part of the opposition team Dandenong. Dilshan even opened the bowling for his team. His 42-ball 53 powered his club to an 8-wicket victory. 

“In Sri Lanka we produced a lot of the world’s best spinners and I trained with them and learnt to (play) against them on turning wickets. I can definitely share this experience with up-and-coming Victorian youngsters,” said Dilshan. 

It will be interesting to see what’s next for Dilshan. Perhaps, he could make a big return to the cricket field through the Big Bash League just like Johan Botha. Even Morne Morkel is playing as an Australian player in the ongoing Big Bash League. However, one should note that Dilshan is 44 years old now.