Is TM Dilshan in the league of the best batsmen or best all-rounders?

TM Dilshan, is the oldest player of the current Sri Lankan international side and in actual fact he has made the debut well before all the current players in the circuit; even Sangakkara made his debut just after TM.

He came in to the side during the latter part of the era where it was really hard for the outstation players to make it in to the national side. 

A ‘batsman with his own adjustments’, a ‘bowler with a brain’, a ‘fielder with a big heart’ and a ‘wicket-keeper with all the skills’. That is Thilakaratne Dilshan for you. Has he showcased all of those in International level? Simply yes.
Who would you think the best ever Sri Lankan TEST opener in the history of TEST Cricket with the highest average? Perhaps Marvan, as he was the best technician produced by the country or Sanath, with a massive number of matches and the runs or someone before that like Sidath Wettumuny? With over 2000 runs, having hit 193 as the highest in English conditions, eight centuries and ten fifties to the tally, its none other than TM Dilshan the best Lankan TEST opener with an average of 42.54. You need to know the text book Cricket; but you got to have your own adjustments too, proved by this outstanding Cricketer.

In a one match during the ICC Champions Trophy-2013 where the likes of Malinga, Kulasekara and Herath were part of it; Sri Lanka were struggling to take the last Australian wicket which was apparently taking the game away from Lankans. The skipper Angelo had no option, other than going for the off-spin of TM Dilshan who eventually produced the wicket with a caught and bowled when the partnership had almost gone for 50 runs. A bowler with a brain and a shrewd tactician for sure.

At one stage, Sri Lanka was supposed to be the best fielding side in Asia and one of the best in the world with the contribution of Mahanama, Kalpage, Sanath Jayasuriya and Muttiah Muralitharan. With the retirements of all of them, there has been only one guy to stand up and dominate the opponents in the field. Having aged for 39 years, TM Dilshan is arguably the best fielder of Sri Lankan outfit, covering the most important areas like Point, Backward Point, Cover Point and Gully.

Sri Lankan Cricket has never been shy to use an extra batsman or extra bowler all this time, when TM Dilshan has been playing in the side. TM is also capable of taking the gloves in any stage of the match in any format in International Cricket.

Back in 2008, Dilshan was dropped from the ODI side saying that he is a waste during his pre-opening batting era. ‘Right person should be given the right position’. Would you believe that, he has become one of the best openers in the history of world One-Day International Cricket, ever since he was given the very position and  the best ever Sri Lankan opener in all formats in terms of the average mixed with the higher-side strike rate.

T.M Dilshan is the 11th highest run getter in World ODI history and one of the 11 men with 10000 ODIs runs to the tally. He is the third highest run getter in world T20I history and one of the very few Cricketers with a century in the particular format.

Does the text book technique matter, as long as you have your own technique and adjustments? T.M Dilshan has proved that ‘it does not’, to the world by taking many bowler to the cleaners in all conditions of the world.

There is less than handful of players in world Cricket with a Cricketing shot with their own name. Thilakaratne Dilshan started to dominate the world in 2009 with his own shot over the keeper’s head and ultimately it was called ‘Dilscoop’.  Many players tried to copy the shot; nobody has done it better than Dilshan yet though.

With more than 100 One-Day International Wickets along with overall 150 International Wickets, he has been more than a lesser bowler in the International circuit, particularly with his knack of breaking partnerships. With over 230 International catches, he stands among the top 16 all-time list and the countless runs, stopped by this brilliant Cricketer have not been recorded.

At one stage, he accepted the challenge of captaining the Sri Lankan Cricket team, when both Mahela and Sangakkara refused to take the leadership. At another stage, this great man did not let the fans feel any void left by Sanath’s retirement on top.

He has played International Cricket for a good 16 years now and he continues in a pattern seemingly improving with age.

With all these batting records, has he been overshadowed by the players like Sangakkara and Mahela? In his own role, he has done his level best which should be categorized among the best in the world. Thilakaratne Dilshan: should he be rated among the world best batsmen or among the world best all-rounders?