Dilshan to leave IPL next week for England tour

Sri Lanka's newly-appointed cricket captain Tillakaratne Dilshan has chosen country over club by deciding to leave his IPL side Royal Challengers Bangalore next week to be available for the national team's first tour game in England.

Dilshan will join the national squad on May 11, three days before the opening tour match against Middlesex.

The arrangement was worked out after negotiations between the BCCI and Sri Lanka Cricket. "He will be there on May 11," SLC secretary Nishantha Ranatunga was quoted as saying by 'Cricinfo'.

This means, Dilshan will miss Bangalore's last four league matches and the knockouts, if the team manages to go that far.

The explosive batsman, who has succeeded Kumar Sangakkara as Sri Lanka captain, has been off-colour in the IPL scoring just 120 runs in seven innings.

But five Sri Lanka players will miss the match against Middlesex to be there for their IPL franchises.