As the curtain begins to fall on Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) whose administration was ripped apart in Parliament on two separate occasions over corruption and abuse and also documented in more than one Investigate Report, another World Cup champion has hit the limelight in the final clean-up act.
Retired batsman Tillekeratne Dilshan, who is no ordinary history maker, declared he will adopt a no-nonsense approach in the crusade against corruption in sports as he regretted making the wrong choice politically five years ago and made no secret of his desire to atone for the blunder.
“Not only cricket, there are 63 sports registered in the country and there is corruption all over. It is not about winning, but we have to leave a future for our children”, lashed out Dilshan who unlike his playing days does not have to shut his eyes and ears to corrupt practices taking place in cricket.
Dilshan the only cricketer who has a shot (dilscoop) named after him, lived on a knife’s edge and refused to be cowed down as he took the bull by the horns during his playing days and was a member of T20 World Cup winning team of 2014.
“In 2019 I made a mistake”, Dilshan admitted holding back nothing. “I know a lot of people who listened to me were part of the 69 lakhs (that voted for Gotabaya Rajapaksa). But I also know I have a duty by the people that I let down and want to do justice and make amends”.
Dilshan was the first Sri Lanka captain to lead a team to win a Test in South Africa in December 2011.
The 47-year old Dilshan did not disclose in what capacity he would bowl out corruption in cricket and other sports but strongly hinted that the days of position abusers were numbered.
“It is now a different ball game for me and I have drawn up a set of plans to work for the people. Some people could say that we are only good at playing cricket and come out at an opportune time.
“This is not true. My desire is to work for the people and I don’t need to strike any political deals with any political party”, said Dilshan who is now an Opposition campaigner for change joining the likes of Arjuna Ranatunga, Hashan Tillekaratne and Chaminda Vaas, all World Cup champions in their own right.
Unknown to many of his followers, Dilshan even as a player went beyond the boundary batting for humble folks in distant places of the country improving their living standards with shelter and subsistence and two years ago provided a hundred push cycles to school kids when he witnessed first-hand how some of them walked miles to their classrooms in the Trincomalee district.
“I never spoke about what I have done for the people in the past, but now that I have been drawn into public focus in retirement I think I should reveal what I have done. I don’t help people going by political affiliations”, said Dilshan.
He was one of the players who built up a strong rapport with journalists during his playing days and took both criticism and praise for what it was meant.
He finished his playing days after scoring 17,671 runs while making his international appearance 527 times at the crease in a career that began in 1999 and ended in 2016.
