Former Sri Lanka star Tillakaratne Dilshan gains Australian citizenship

Former Sri Lanka star Tillakaratne Dilshan made headlines when he received Australian citizenship on February 25. Notably, the star cricketer is now living in Australia alongside his four children and wife, Manjula Thilini.

However, the Member of Parliament, Jason Wood, shared the news of Tillakaratne Dilshan obtaining Australian citizenship on Instagram as a recent immigrant and national resident. Moreover, he even expressed his wish that the former batter could have played for some of the nation’s local teams. Meanwhile, the great all-rounder will no longer be allowed to travel with his Sri Lankan passport due to his Australian citizenship; if he still wishes to visit his home nation, he must get both a passport and a visa.

In a post on Instagram, Australian Minister Jason Wood wrote “Today’s citizenship ceremony was made even more special with the attendance of Tillakaratne Dilshan, a former Sri Lankan cricketer and captain of the Sri Lanka national cricket team.  Dilshan is regarded as the best Sri Lankan player in run-chases in ODI history. He also holds the record for being the top run scorer in the 2011 Cricket World Cup with 500 runs and scored a century against England in the semi-final. Additionally, he was part of the Sri Lankan team that won the 2014 World Twenty20.”

We hope Tillakaratne Dilshan decides to join a local team and continue to share his talents: Jason Wood

“As a new Aussie and local resident, we hope he decides to join a local team and continue to share his talents with the community. It was great to hear that his daughter Resandi is following in her father’s footstep,” he wrote further.

Meanwhile, Sri Lanka’s star all-rounder, Tillakaratne Dilshan, was a pillar of the Sri Lankan cricket team and captained the side several times. The 47-year-old cricketer played a crucial role in guiding his side to the finals of the 2011 ODI World Cup; however, the side suffered a loss against host country India.

In addition, the 47-year-old has amassed 10,290 runs in 330 ODIs for Sri Lanka. The stylish right-handed player has also scored 5492 runs in 87 Test matches and 1889 runs in 80 T20Is for Sri Lanka. The star player, who grabbed 154 wickets for the team in different formats during his day, was recognized as one of the finest in all of cricket.