Sri Lankan veteran Dilshan set to re-emerge as BBL target following Test retirement

Sydney: Veteran Sri Lankan batsmanTillakaratne Dilshan is reportedly set to re-emerge as a target for the Australian Twenty20 tournament, the Big Bash League (BBL), following his retirement from Test cricket.

Dilshan, who will continue playing limited-overs for Sri Lanka in the hope of earning selection for the 2015 World Cup, is likely to be selected in Sri Lanka`s squad for its series against Pakistan in the United Arab Emirates in December. According to the Sydney Morning Herald, although Dilshan`s selection in the UAE series might make him unavailable for the first two or three rounds of the BBL as the Test series will end on December 27 this year, BBL side Sydney Thunder is eyeing Dilshan with interest given that former Sri Lankan international Chandika Hathurusingha has taken over as coach of the team. The report mentioned that Dilshan was signed by the state of New South Wales (NSW) for the then state-based BBL competition in 2010-11 but was unable to fulfill his contract because Sri Lanka Cricket barred its players from playing in other countries` T20 leagues in the lead-up to the World Cup in 2011.