Dilshan’s absence puts Southern Express in fix

Saturday, 13 September 2014 02:30 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Raipur: In a huge blow to Southern Express, representing Sri Lanka in the Champions League T20, their ace batsman Tillakaratne Dilshan has pulled out of the contest due to “personal reasons”. “I have been informed today that Dilshan won’t be participating in the CLT20 due to personal reasons. So that’s all the information we have got for now,” said the manager of Southern Express, Shane Fernando at a press conference here Thursday.

Southern Express, considered underdogs in this edition of the CLT20, with only a few senior players in the fold, are already facing a tough time in the absence of star pacer Lasith Malinga, who had captained the team to the championship title at the domestic Super Fours T20 tournament. Malinga has decided to play for his Indian Premier League side, Mumbai Indians in CLT20. “Not having Malinga is a bit of a blow for us as he was a part of the team in Colombo. “As far as Dilshan is concerned he didn’t attend the practice and played games. Obviously he is big player and a great batsman. But we have a good balanced side and looking to do well in the championship,” Shane replied when asked about the impact of absence of Malinga and Dilshan on team’s performance. Replying to a query on the current composition of his team, Shane said, “If you look at our team, apart from three players we have men with international exposure and also those who have been in the Sri Lankan A and T20 sides. So we have got a balanced side. Even the new youngsters are very talented and ready to deliver their best. “If you consider us inexperienced it’s good for us as a team. Obviously we are going to perform well.” To a query on the overall strength of his team, captain Jehan Mubarak said that it has been doing well with the bat but will be focusing to capitalise on each compartment and look to progress in the tournament game by game. Ruling out key roles for any single player in a match, Mubarak said, “Teams, whether they are international or domestic, don’t rely on one or two players. They make plans to go with the entire team.” Southern Express will take on Northern Knights at Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Stadium here on September 13 before locking horns with tougher opponents Lahore Lions and Mumbai Indians.

Pollard named Mumbai Indians Captain

Kieron Pollard has been named Mumbai Indians Captain for the Champions League Twenty20 after Rohit Sharma was ruled out with injuries. Pollard has been with Mumbai since 2010, but has not led the team before this tournament. He had been captain of Barbados Tridents, winners of the Caribbean Premier League this season. Anil Kumble, the Mumbai team mentor, welcomed the appointment. “I am confident that Kieron with his varied experience and impressive track record, will rise to the occasion, and align the Mumbai Indians for a competitive performance,” he said. Mumbai’s squad also includes Harbhajan Singh, who led them to the 2012 Champions League title, and Lasith Malinga, who was Sri Lanka’s captain when they won the World T20 four months ago, but a press release sent out by the franchise said Pollard was the “automatic choice” to lead in Rohit’s absence. Pollard has played 96 games for Mumbai, in which he has scored 1778 runs at a strike rate of 144.31, and taken 53 wickets. Rohit has been replaced by Sushant Marathe in the squad.