Southern Express dealt Dilshan blow

Tillakaratne Dilshan will not play for Southern Express in the Champions League, due to a family commitment, Sri Lanka Cricket has said. He is the second high-profile player to be absent from the Express' Champions League campaign, after Lasith Malinga opted to play for Mumbai Indians.

"Not having Malinga is a bit of a blow for us as he was a part of the team in Colombo," Southern Express manager Shane Fernando said. "As far as Dilshan is concerned he didn't attend the practice and played games. Obviously he is big player and a great batsman. But we have a good balanced side and are looking to do well in the championship."

Though Dilshan had originally been named in the Southern Express squad before the Super Fours tournament took place, he did not feature in that tournament as he was playing for Surrey in the NatWest Blast at the time. He was nevertheless in the 15-man squad the Express named for the CLT20 before he made himself unavailable.

Dilshan has been replaced in the Southern Express squad by his brother, Tillakaratne Sampath.