Dimuth Karunaratne has announced his retirement from international cricket with the second Test against Australia in Galle to be the last for the former Sri Lankan captain. The Sri Lanka vs Australia second Test starts on February 6, will be his final international match. One of the most successful Sri Lanka batters, Dimuth Karunaratne will rest his bat at the top level after playing his milestone 100th Test in Galle.
The left-handed opener has been the pillar of Sri Lanka’s Test batting for over a decade, but have recently struggled to get runs under his belt. According to a Newswire report, his dip in form prompted Dimuth Karunaratne to take the decision, thus drawing curtains to a 14-year-old international career. His retirement will mark an end of a era.
In the first Test against Australia, Dimuth Karunaratne was dismissed for 7 and 0 across innings. On February 6, Dimuth Karunaratne will became the seventh Sri Lanka cricketer to reach the milestone of 100 Tests. Sanath Jayasuriya (110), Muttiah Muralidaran (132), Chaminda Vaas (111), Kumar Sangakkara (134), Mahela Jayawardene (149), and Angelo Mathews (117) have played most Tests for Sri Lanka.
In fact, Dimuth Karunaratne’s 16 Test centuries for Sri Lanka is the joint-fourth in the history of Lankan cricket. The 36-year-old shares the joint fourth position with Marvan Atapattu, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Dinesh Chandimal and Angelo Mathews.
Kumar Sangakkara leads the chart with 38 Test tons followed by Mahela Jayawardene (34) and Aravinda de Silva (20).
Dimuth Karunaratne’s record as Test captain
Dimuth Karunaratne captained Sri Lanka in 30 Tests in five years, winning 12, losing 12 and drawing six games. The highlight of his captaincy came in early 2019 when Sri Lanka secured a memorable Test series win in South Africa. He was also a part of the ICC Men’s Test Team of the Year for 2023 as he scored 608 runs in six Tests matches in the year.
