Tillakaratne Dilshan retires from one-day internationals

25 August 2016 11:24

Tillakaratne Dilshan will end his impressive one-day international career after Sunday's game with Australia.

The 39-year-old, an attacking opening batsman and capable off-spinner, is 11th on the list of the world's leading ODI run-scorers with 10,248.

In his 329 ODIs he has hit 22 hundreds and 47 fifties. He has also taken 106 wickets.

A relatively late-comer to international cricket, Dilshan made his ODI debut in 1999, featuring as an all-rounder batting mainly in the lower-middle order for a decade.

Given the chance to bat up the order, he firmly established himself in that position and often gave Sri Lanka a flying start to innings.

The right-hander is capable of shots all round the wicket, including his trademark 'Dilscoop' where he flicks the ball directly behind himself.

Dilshan played in the 2007, 2011 and 2015 World Cups, finishing as a runner-up in the first two and a quarter-finalist in the latter.

He retired from Tests in 2013 and is set to be available for the two Twenty20 internationals versus Australia that follow the ODI series.

Sri Lanka Cricket president Thilanga Sumathipala said in a statement that Sunday's ODI in Dambulla would be dedicated to Dilshan for "his invaluable contribution to his mother land". The five-match series is locked at 1-1.

Australia have made the surprise decision of sending captain Steve Smith home to prepare for leading his country in the domestic summer. David Warner will take the captaincy for the rest of the tour.

Source: PA