Dilshan to captain Sri Lanka

Following Kumar Sangakkara’s decision to step down from the Sri Lankan captaincy after the World Cup, Tillakaratne Dilshan has been named as his successor and will be in charge of the team for this summer’s tour of England.

Sports betting pundits note how Dilshan will take charge of the team in all forms of the game and this would have been a major influence in the decision to appoint him.

Despite the fact he is 34, Dilshan is heavily expected by those placing sports bets to be part of Sri Lankan cricket for a few years and is in the form of his life right now. He was the leading scorer in the recent World Cup, scoring 500 runs at an average of 62.50.

It is rare that you get someone involved in all forms of the game suitable for captaincy, but Dilshan fits the bill perfectly. Experienced? Yes. Committed? Yes. Respected? Yes. In good form? Yes. Quite simply, there were not many other candidates.

Dilshan will now lead the team into a new era, but it is unknown as yet who his vice-captain will be. Mahela Jayawardene resigned from this post at the same time as Sangakkara stepped down from the captaincy and it is thought a decision has been delayed because a number of the candidates for Dilshan’s right hand man are injured.

All-rounder Angelo Mathews is favourite for the role, but he is out with a side strain picked up during the World Cup victory over New Zealand earlier this month. Mathews has also been tipped to become full-time captain in the future.

The thing is with this Sri Lanka team though is that there are plenty of people for Dilshan to call upon for help. With ex-captains Jayawardene and Sangakkara in the team, Dilshan won’t be short on experience within his ranks.

The all-rounder will want to be his own man though and lead this talented and exciting Sri Lanka team into a few years of success. Starting with the tour of England this year, where Dilshan will go head to head with Ashes winning captain Andrew Strauss.