Tillakaratne Dilshan pulls out of CLT20 due to 'personal reasons'

TM Dilshan has pulled out of the tournament citing personal reasons

Tillakaratne Dilshan, the veteran Sri Lankan opening batsman has informed Sri Lanka cricket board that he will be unable to play for the Southern Express team due to “personal reasons”.

"Dilshan has informed Sri Lanka Cricket today and I have been informed that Dilshan won’t be participating in the Champions League due personal reasons," said Shane Fernando, the manager of Southern Express.

Dilshan, who wasn’t a part of the squad in the recently concluded Super 4’s tournament due to his engagement with Surrey in the NatWest Blast tournament, was the only high profile player in the Southern Express squad after Malinga chose to play for Mumbai Indians ahead of Southern Express, which he lead in the domestic tournament.

However, the manager of the team responded in the affirmative about the prospects of the Sri Lankan franchise, despite Dilshan’s absence. “Dilshan didn’t attend any matches during our preparation. So as far Dilshan is concerned, he is a champion batsman and a superb T20 player, but we have prepared so far and we have enough talent in our side to go ahead in this tournament even without Dilshan.”

On the other hand the manager called Malinga’s truancy as a set back, calling him a pivotal part of the team. “Obviously, not having Malinga will be a bit of a blow for us because he was part of our team in Colombo.

“Lasith was a part of our team in the build up for this Champions League and he played a big role for us in being the champions in the local tournament”.

Nevertheless, Fernando believes that his team would be able to do well in the tournament. “The team has been preparing for the last six weeks without Malinga, and I think we have a well-balanced side. The captain (Jehan Mubarak) and coach (Naveed Nawaz) are very happy with the team.”

The Sri Lankan T20 Champions would be competing against Northern Districts, Mumbai Indians and Lahore Lions in the qualifying stage of the tournament, with the top two teams measuring up to the next level.