Ready to do whatever the team requires: Dilshan

Tillakaratne Dilshan has accepted his transition from being Sri Lanka’s skipper to being a key foot-soldier for Royal Challengers Bangalore in the Champions League.

After an injured AB de Villiers was ruled out, Dilshan donned the wicket-keeping gloves and he is open to continuing in that role. “I started out as a wicketkeeper-batsman. But when I played for Sri Lanka, I opened the innings. RCB needed me to keep wickets (against Kolkata Knight Riders) and I put my hand up. I am ready to do whatever the team needs me to do,” Dilshan said here on Sunday.

The aggressive opener said that RCB is optimistic about its semifinal prospects. “We have to defeat Somerset and then South Australia. We know that the nett run rate will come into the equation and we are looking at winning with a big margin but importantly we are looking at winning first,” he said.

Team-spirit was also emphasised by Somerset spinner Murali Kartik. “We came here without a few first-choice players like Craig Kieswetter, Marcus Trescothick, Jos Buttler and Kieron Pollard but we stayed together and did well, and that’s the way forward for us,” Kartik said.

The left-arm spinner spoke at length about the challenges that test his tribe in Twenty20 cricket. “The other day Arul (Suppiah) went for 30 runs in an over and I felt sorry for him. As a bowler you do certain things and it looks good if it comes good but you can look silly if it doesn’t. When I saw the (short) boundary in Bangalore I thought of becoming a batsman. Thankfully things are going well for me, and even in the previous editions of the Indian Premier League I had one of the best economy rates. If five bowlers go for 20-odd runs then you will be chasing something like 120 and I will take that any day,” Kartik said.

Never the diplomat, Kartik said he felt that the recent changes to the ODI regulations would help batsmen. “How can it (two new balls in an innings) be a blessing? Earlier, there was a chance for the spinners as the old ball doesn’t go off the bat. Now, two new balls will remain fresh. At the same time, spinners can grip the ball better but I am sure this rule is only for the batsmen,” he said. (The Hindu)