Tillakaratne Dilshan

Sanath Jayasuriya and Romesh Kaluwitharana were some of the great Sri Lankan legends whose careers took a climb once they started opening the innings. The same decision has proved fruitful for Tillakaratne Dilshan who, from a struggling middle-order batsman, has become one of the most destructive opening batsmen in the modern era.

Dilshan's professional career began in 1996 and within three years of his debut, he was selected to represent Sri Lanka in Tests. In only his 2nd Test, he scored a composed 163 against Zimbabwe. He made his ODI debut in the same year against the same opposition. However, after being granted numerous chances, he failed to impress and endured a miserable period between 2001 and 2003 when he was dropped on several occasions. Even after his comeback, Dilshan did little to inspire his confidence. In 2007-08, he was relegated to captain the Sri Lanka 'A' side after he was dropped for Sri Lanka's Test series in Australia. To prove his detractors wrong, Dilshan slammed 111 and 78 in two of the three innings thus guiding his team to a 3-0 clean sweep over Zimbabwe. He was then recalled for the ODI series in Australia and scored 62 runs of just 59 balls, opening the innings against India. But after failing in the next two games, he was demoted to the middle order where he was wasted for the next 11 months.

Kumar Sangakkara, Michael Vandort and Sanath Jayasuriya were tried during this period but they all failed, giving Dilshan a second chance to open the innings in a match against Pakistan in 2009. Dilshan grabbed the bull by its horns and since then has become the first choice opener for Sri Lanka in all three formats. He now exhibits a self belief and confidence which was previously lacking in his game. He is ruthless in the Powerplays, constantly attempting to clear the infield but has become much more sensible interspersing it with singles and twos. He is the pioneer of the 'Dilscoop' - a shot where he paddles the ball over his own head and the wicket-keeper's in a typically unique style.

A brilliant fielder, Dilshan is also a useful off-spinner. His transition had been such that he was made Sri Lanka's captain in ODIs and T20Is on more occasions than one. Following Sangakkara's resignation as the Sri Lankan skipper post the 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup, Dilshan was eventually handed over the captaincy in all three formats, before being replaced by team-mate Mahela Jayawardene post their disastrous South African tour. To give away his spot to groom a youngster, Dilshan took retirement from the Test format in October, 2013 but continues to be an important part of the limited overs team.