Sri Lanka's newly appointed captain Tillakaratne Dilshan has said he doesn't mind leaving the IPL early in order to prepare for the upcoming tour of England. Dilshan is among the 11 Sri Lankan players who have been asked by Sri Lanka Cricket to return by May 5, in order to attend a training camp before leaving for England on May 11.
| The blond streaks and the ear-rings are gone |
"Personally, I am not unhappy to return early," said Dilshan, who is on a brief visit to Colombo amid his IPL commitments with Royal Challengers Bangalore. "Playing for my country is more important than playing the IPL. I think everybody selected for the England tour will be happy to come early. We have a new interim coach [Stuart Law] and a new batting coach [Marvan Atapattu]. I am also new as captain. We need to prepare together to build up for the big England tour."
Apart from reaffirming his commitment to the national side, Dilshan has also toned down the flashier aspects of his image as he gets ready for captaincy. "Times have changed. I pierced my ear when my daughter cried when her ears were being pierced," he said. "Now I don't see a need to wear the earring. It's the same with my hair. [Streaking it] was fashionable then for me, it is not so now."
Dilshan, however, said he was not planning to tone down his attacking brand of cricket. "I have come this far today because of the way I play my cricket. I don't see any reason why I should change it. I am an aggressive player and I may apply that aggression to my captaincy as well, depending on the circumstances.
"Captaincy is a challenging role for me. It's a dream come true. I never expected it. I want to give it my best shot. I have played for nearly 12 years. It's been a very long journey to the top."
Dilshan said he was "lucky" to have two past captains - Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene - in the side and was looking forward to playing "good cricket" on the England tour. "We know they [England] are a strong side in their own conditions but we are capable of giving them a good run.
"We have an experienced batting line up and the first thing we need to do is to get used to the conditions there. We need to get acclimatised as quick as possible if we are to put up a good contest against England," he said.
The England tour will be Sri Lanka's first full series after the retirement of offspinner Muttiah Muralitharan, but Dilshan was confident his spinners - Ajantha Mendis, Rangana Herath and Suraj Randiv - would deliver. "We have to look forward to the new bowlers like Suraj Randiv," he said. "We are giving the opportunity to Suraj to do the job for us."
In the absence of Lasith Malinga, Sri Lanka's pace attack will be led by Dilhara Fernando, who has played 35 Tests. Chanaka Welegedara and Suranga Lakmal have played eight Tests between them, while fast bowler Nuwan Pradeep and bowling allrounder Thisara Perera are yet to make their Test debuts.
"I have the fullest confidence in my fast bowlers. Nuwan Pradeep is playing with me in the same team for Royal Challengers in the IPL and he is the best bowler in the squad." Dilshan said. "We want to give young fast bowlers a chance if we don't they'll never get the experience. We have given the opportunity to the young fast bowlers and I hope they will make use of it."
SLC had initially signed a No Objection Certificate (NOC) with its players allowing them to participate in the IPL until May 20. The tournament carries on until May 28, while the England tour kicks off with a warm-up game on May 14. The BCCI has been in talks with SLC, to convince them to allow their players to extend their IPL participation, but Sri Lanka is unlikely to relent.
"The BCCI has asked us to reconsider our decision, but we have not changed our stand," SLC secretary Nishantha Ranatunga said. "We did sign a no-objection agreement with the players to play in the IPL. But there was no date to return. I am sure the BCCI will understand country must come first before IPL."
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