Former Sri Lanka legend Tilakaratne Dilshan obtains Australian citizenship

Former Sri Lanka cricketer Tilakaratne Dilshan recently made headlines after he obtained Australian citizenship. Currently in Australia, Dilshan lives with his wife, Manjula Thilini, and his four children. 

As a new Australian and a local resident now, the MP, Jason Wood, took to Instagram to share the news of Dilshan getting Australian citizenship and even wished that the former batter played for some of the local teams in the country as well. His Australian citizenship means that Dilshan won’t be holding a Sri Lankan passport anymore, and if plans a visit to his native country, he will require a visa and a passport to do so. 

“Today's citizenship ceremony was made even more special with the attendance of Tillakaratne Dilshan, a former Sri Lankan cricketer and captain of the Sri Lanka national cricket team,” Wood mentioned on his Instagram handle. 

“Dilshan is regarded as the best Sri Lankan player in run-chases in ODI history. He also holds the record for being the top run scorer in the 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup with 500 runs and scored a century against England in the semi-final. Additionally, he was part of the Sri Lankan team that won the 2014 ICC World Twenty20. As a new Aussie and local resident, we hope he decides to join a local team and continue to share his talents with the community. It was great to hear that his daughter Resandi is following in her father’s footsteps,” Wood concluded.

Dilshan remains a stalwart of Sri Lankan cricket

Tilakaratne Dilshan was one of the most influential all-rounders of his generation. Being a stalwart for Sri Lankan cricket, Dilshan carried the mantle of the national team on quite a few occasions.

The 47-year-old has played 330 ODIs for Sri Lanka, where he has amassed 10,290 runs to his name. Furthermore, in 87 Test matches, Dilshan has scored 5492 runs, with 1889 runs in 80 T20Is for Sri Lanka. In his prime, the star batter was considered one of the best in world cricket and has even picked up 154 wickets across formats for the side.