'Hurt' by the board's decision to take away captaincy: Tillakaratne Dilshan

The aggressive Sri Lankan opener, Tillakaratne Dilshan played his last ODI match yesterday against Australia at Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium. Dilshan suggested that he doesn’t have enough support from his teammates.

He spoke about the challenges he faced in the 10-month captaincy stint after the 2011 World Cup in India. He said that the current skipper, Angelo Mathews didn’t bowl enough during his tenure as skipper and was back in action as soon as Mahela Jayawardene took over the captaincy.

“I didn’t actually plan to take the captaincy, but the SLC president asked me to take over for six months until we find someone else,” Dilshan said. “Unfortunately, we had also lost two bowlers. Murali (Muralitharan) had retired. Nuwan Kulasekara was injured. Ajantha Mendis was injured. I didn’t have great resources.”

“Angelo Mathews had a calf injury for a year that stopped him from bowling. That must be because of my misfortune, because after I had stepped down, we went to Australia after a week. In that week, Mathews started bowling. That must be because of Mahela’s good fortune,” he added.

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Senior players refused to take over captaincy:

He is not pleased that, no senior player was ready to take over the captaincy for the final Test match of the series against England on the 2011 tour after he has been ruled out due to injury. “There actually wasn’t anyone who was willing to be captain.”

“Everyone resigned after the 2011 World Cup. In England a ball hit my hand and I broke my finger, and the former captains were asked to lead, and they said no. After that only when it was talked about that someone like Sanath Jayasuriya or Thilina Kandamby be made captain that someone (Sangakkara) presented himself to be captain. But I guess there’s no point talking about those past things anymore.”

He was removed from captaincy ahead of the tri-series in Australia, featuring India, Australia, and Sri Lanka. He revealed that he was ‘hurt’ by the board’s decision to remove him as skipper, but he said that he ‘put everything aside’ and focussed on playing for his nation. He was awarded as the player of the tournament in the series with over 500 runs against his name. “I went to Australia, scored 500 runs, and became Man of the Series. It didn’t matter to me who was captain. I wasn’t concerned about who ousted me as captain. I always play for my country.”

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Gave opportunity to young players:

However, he is proud of the fact that some of the youngsters who made their way into the squad during his stint, is making an impact in Sri Lankan cricket. “I am proud that it is players that I brought into the team at the time who are winning matches now.”

“About six or seven of the players today are cricketers who I’d given a chance to. At the time it was a problem for me because people asked me why I was giving young players so many opportunities. But today, we should look at players like Dinesh Chandimal.”

He said that even though he would have played another 2 years, but he considered the fact that leaving just ahead of the World Cup could be an injustice to the team. “If I play for another two years and leave, there’s only 18 months before the next World Cup and that’s unfair to the team,” he noted.

“A young player could be blooded in that time. Since I started opening six years ago, we haven’t found a permanent partner for me. I’ve opened with about 10 people – so that’s a problematic area for us. If I keep playing we won’t be able to get two batsmen settled in that place. I’ll be able to get some rest.”