Retiring Dilshan will be remembered as `destructive opener`: ICC

Dubai [UAE], Sept.9 (ANI): The International Cricket Council has congratulated former Sri Lanka captain Tillakaratne Dilshan for an impressive international career that ended on Friday with the Twenty20 International series against Australia. ICC chief executive David Richardson said in a statement that Dilshan, who is one of only 11 players to have scored a century in each format of the game, was the epitome of the modern-day cricketer with his ability to adapt. "Dilshan's accomplishments across all three formats are fantastic. He started as a solid batsman but adjusted to the demands of the faster-paced game and came to be known as one of the best in ODI and T20 Internationals. "He will be remembered for his innovative strokes and as a destructive opener. He was also a useful spin bowler and an outstanding fielder. We congratulate Dilshan for a fine career and wish him every success in the future," said Richardson. Dilshan, who retired from Test cricket in 2013, topped the ICC World Twenty20 rankings for T20 batsmen in June 2009 and the ODI all-rounders' list in 2015. He was selected in the ICC's ODI team of the year four times - in 2009, 2011, 2013 and 2015, and won the 2009 Twenty20 International Performance of the Year for his 96 off 57 balls against the West Indies in the semifinal of the ICC World Twenty20 in 2009. Dilshan was a member of the Sri Lanka side which shared the ICC Champions Trophy 2002 title with India, and won the ICC World Twenty20 2014 in Bangladesh. He also featured in the finals of the ICC Cricket World Cups in 2007 and 2011. He scored 5,492 runs in 87 Test matches with 16 centuries and plundered 10,290 runs in 330 ODIs with 22 centuries. In T20Is, he got 1889 runs in 80 matches including one century, which makes him one of only 11 batsmen to have scored centuries in all three formats in international cricket. (ANI)