What you can pick up from the Indian opener, he says, is the attitude. “I have my own style of batting and I will not change that. But yes, like Viru, if I get the first ball of the match in the zone, then I will play my shots.”

There’s another destructive opener that Dilshan’s got a better view of, and he says walking out to bat with Sanath Jayasuriya is a special feeling. “I have admired a lot of things in Sanath, and I have learnt from him how to attack in a calculated manner,” he says. “The Kaluwitharana and Jayasuriya combination changed the face of batting in one-dayers, now I want to forge another dangerous pair with Sanath and bring similar results for the Sri Lankan team.”

After being around for close to a decade, Dilshan is happy to get a permanent slot at the top of the order. “I always wanted to bat at the top of the batting card. I’ve done well higher up, even at three and four.

“I’m really happy opening the batting, and I don’t want to go anywhere else.”