Sri Lanka's star batsman will be gracing New Zealand cricket grounds this summer after Northern Districts pulled off a big coup by signing Tillakaratne Dilshan for their domestic Twenty20 squad.
Dilshan was the highest run-scorer at the recent Twenty20 World Cup in England and Northern Districts chief executive David Cooper is understandably over the moon.
Cooper hopes the 32-year-old can help ND into the lucrative Champions League club competition, which was a big reason for Dilshan coming here.
Arguably the best batsman in the shortest form of the game, Dilshan was lured to ND after his Indian Premier League team-mate Dan Vettori had a word to Northern Districts.
Cooper says the big-hitting Sri Lankan wants as many chances as possible to play in next year's Champions League, just in case neither his IPL nor Sri Lankan clubs make it.
Cooper says buying him in didn't bust the bank thanks to a third party deal.
