Jacob Sweetman

This book tells the story of an explosive batsman who is one of the best fielders in the world and a great off-spinner. Dilshan’s life has been incredible enough but behind all this is the story of a man who has had to struggle to beat the consequences of poverty. He grew up in Sri Lanka, a country that is still very much divided between the haves and the have-nots, and also one that is still only re-emerging after thirty years of civil war. It must be remembered that Dilshan loves his country enormously. The pride he has in representing it is almost unmatched, and this will be a recurring theme throughout the book – a “love letter to Sri Lanka,” if you will.

The book deals with all of this, his problems with the higher echelons of cricketing authority, his doomed first marriage and charmed second one. It also tells glowingly about great players he has played with, and against, about scoring a century at Lords as captain and about reaching four World Cup finals. It charts the tragic events of the Tsunami and the terrorist attack in Lahore. It deals with the IPL and the challenges cricket must face in the future. In addition it explains his love for the traditional form of the game, and what it all means to him. It is a romantic story of modern cricket from one of the world game’s biggest stars.