Sri Lankan batsman Tillakaratne Dilshan will miss the Champions League T20 (CLT20) due to personal reasons, according to Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC), meaning that he will not be part of the Southern Express setup for the T20 event.

"Dilshan has informed Sri Lanka Cricket today and I have been informed that Dilshan wont be participating in the Champions League due personal reasons," said Shane Fernando, manager of Southern Express.

Despite not having the services of Lasith Malinga, who chose to play for Mumbai Indians, Fernando sounded confident of his side's chances at the T20 event.

"The team has been preparing for the last six weeks without Malinga, and I think we have a well-balanced side. The captain [Jehan Mubarak] and coach [Naveed Nawaz] are very happy with the team," he said.

Though admitting that Dilshan's absence will not hurt the team much, Fernando maintained that he was a champion batsman in the T20 format.

"Dilshan didn't attend any matches during our preparation. So as far Dilshan is concerned, he is a champion batsman and a superb T20 player, but we have prepared so far and we have enough talent in our side to go ahead in this tournament even without Dilshan," he concluded. - Cricbuzz