Tillakaratne Dilshan - 5 reasons why Sri Lanka Cricket will be poorer without him

3) Aggressive style

He had the ability to change the course of an innings very quickly

While nowadays, a number of world class batsmen have really a really good strike-rate, Dilshan belonged to the older breed. He was one of the few cricketers in the world who had the ability to change the entire complexion of the game every time he walked out to the middle. If India had Virender Sehwag, Sri Lanka had Tillakaratne Dilshan.

A strike rate of 86 in ODIs and 120 in T20s speak for itself. The opposition’s bowling was always on the back foot as soon as he came into bat and his dynamism with his unique range of shots was a treat to watch.