Northern Districts happy to have 'electrifying' Dilshan even for short stint

Wellington, Dec. 29 (ANI): New Zealand's top domestic side, Northern Districts (ND) has denied replacing electrifying Sri Lankan batsman Tilekaratne Dilshan for the T20 Championship, the HRV Cup, starting January 2.

Dilshan was slated to join the team for the tournament from the first match against Auckland, but would not be able to do so until January 15 due to a hastily-arranged tri-series involving Sri Lanka, India and Bangladesh.

ND's coach Grant Bradburn rejected speculations about his side seeking a short-term replacement for the Lankan hitter.

"We're going with what we've got. We considered it and there are some great names out there to pick from, but we're pretty happy with the depth we've got. In terms of the skill sets we're pretty much covered across the park so we're happy to cover until Dilshan arrives and we're really looking forward to that," the New Zealand Herald quoted Bradburn, as saying.

Till the time the tri-series, which would be played in Bangladesh, comes to end, Dilshan would have missed at least six of ND's 10 round robin matches.

Dilshan has been in scintillating form in both T20's and the one-day internationals. He has scored three ODI hundreds in his last eight innings, and was also named the man of the series in the last T20 world Cup.

Bradburn said New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori would be playing the entire T20 tournament, which he said would be a great boost for the team.

"He (Vettori) adds real value for us in leadership, batting and bowling," he said. (ANI)