Tillakaratne Dilshan joins Casey South Melbourne

A chance meeting at the MCG Test match led former Sri Lankan captain Tillakaratne Dilshan to Victorian cricket.

Tillakaratne Dilshan hits Mitchell Johnson for six at a World Cup match.

He trained last night. He’ll play tomorrow.

And former Sri Lankan captain Tillakaratne Dilshan will be in Casey South Melbourne’s team for the rest of the season after agreeing to terms for a Premier Cricket stint with the Swans.

The 44-year-old lives at Beaconsfield and joins his former Sri Lankan teammate Thilan Samaraweera, an assistant coach, at the club.

His appearance at training at Casey Fields last night created a “huge buzz’’, according to one Swans player.

He said Dilshan was “class … didn’t go too hard, just pure elegance’’.

Dilshan brings to the Swans the experience of 87 Test matches, which brought him 5492 runs at an average of just under 41. There were 16 centuries and 23 half-centuries.

Tillakaratne Dilshan played 330 ODIs for Sri Lanka.

He was also one of the world’s best batsmen in the shorter formats.

The right-hander played 330 ODIs, thrashing 10,290 runs and 22 centuries, as well as 80 Twenty20 matches.

“With his relentless aggression, strong wrists and natural timing, Tillakaratne Dilshan is one of the most exciting batsmen in the game today,’’ his Cricinfo profile states.

“He is technically sound, but, much like Virender Sehwag, he uses the defensive option only as a last resort, after all the attacking alternatives have been explored.’’

After his international career he became a T20 specialist in domestic competitions around the world.

Dilshan arrived at the Swans by chance.

Casey South Melbourne president Shaun Petrie bumped in to a friend of Dilshan’s on the third day of the MCG Test match.

During their chat the friend mentioned that Dilshan was living in the southeast and might be available to play.

“I said to him, ‘Tell him to ring me’, and on Monday he did,’’ Petrie said.

“It went from there. So that’s how it came about, me running into the guy at the cricket and him saying Dilshan was around.

“We got something worked out in three or four days, and when you think about what he’s done in international cricket, it’s a massive coup. I don’t think it’s sunk in yet, to be honest.’’

Petrie said Dilshan would open the batting with young Ashley Chandrasinghe, who growing up counted Dilshan as one of his cricketing idols.

He said the Casey South Melbourne players were “over the moon’’ at the prospect of playing with such a distinguished cricketer.

“It was pretty amazing when we told them he would be playing on Saturday,’’ Petrie said.

The Swans are expecting a bigger-than-normal crowd to Saturday’s game against regional rival Dandenong.

According to Cricinfo, Dilshan last played a match of significance in March last year, for the Sri Lankan Legends against the Indian legends.

He made 23 off 23 balls in the T20 affair.