Dimuth Karunaratne announces retirement in the middle of Australia series

Sri Lanka National Cricket Team opener Dimuth Karunaratne has announced his retirement from international cricket. The Southpaw will be playing the second Test against the Australia National Cricket Team as his last match at the Galle International Stadium in Galle.

Dimuth Karunaratne will be ending his career after playing 100 Tests, which will be the second Test against the Australia National Cricket Team. The match will be played from Thursday (6th February), and his retirement surely will mark the end of an era in Sri Lanka Cricket.

Dimuth Karunaratne has been an incredible servant for the Sri Lanka National Cricket Team in Tests. He has played a massive role in helping the team make a strong comeback in international cricket. Apart from his heroics as the batter, he also captained the team.

Completing my 100 Tests, the end of the WTC cycle (2023-25), I thought is the right time to retire - Dimuth Karunaratne

Dimuth Karunaratne, who has been going through the lean patch, said that it was difficult for him to maintain his form, and he felt retiring after 100 games would be ideal. Speaking about the same to Daily FT, he explained:

“It is difficult for a Test player to keep himself motivated to play 4 Tests for a year and maintain his form. In the last 2-3 years after the WTC (World Test Championship) was introduced, we have been having very little bilateral series. My current form is another reason; completing my 100 Tests, the end of the WTC cycle (2023-25), I thought is the right time to retire."

Dimuth Karunaratne, who will be moving to Australia with his family next month, revealed that he made the call after talking to his teammates Angelo Mathews and Dinesh Chandimal. He also added that his target was to get 10000 runs, but he is happy with what he has achieved. He explained:

“I have some personal plans of my own. I’ve decided to retire after speaking to other senior players like Angie [Angelo Mathews] and Chandi [Dinesh Chandimal]. Rather than the three of us retiring at the same time, it will be better for us to go one by one.

"I thought I would retire first because I know I cannot go for my next target – 10,000 runs – with the lesser number of Tests being played. I am happy with what I have achieved so far. I want to announce my retirement with a happy moment like playing in my 100th Test."

It will be a great milestone if I can score a 100 in my 100th Test - Dimuth Karunaratne

Dimuth Karunaratne, who holds the record of scoring a hundred in his 50th Test match, is eyeing a ton in the next Test against the Australia National Cricket Team as well. He said that if he gets to his century, it will be great for him. He added:

“Not only in my 100th Test, but I look forward to scoring a hundred in every game I play and contributing towards my team. It will be a great milestone if I can score a 100 in my 100th Test.”

Dimuth Karunaratne also added that he is satisfied with his career, stating that appearing in 100 Tests for his team is a big achievement for him. He added:

“Any cricketer’s dream is to play 100 Tests and score 10,000 runs. It’s a big achievement. When you start playing cricket, you don’t think of those targets, but when you continue playing, you come across different targets.

"One of them is to play 100 Tests and the other is to achieve 10,000 runs. But as Sri Lanka are playing less Test matches for a year, getting to 10,000 runs seems far away. Appearing in 100 Tests I feel is an achievement.”

Dimuth Karunaratne will go down as one of the finest openers for Sri Lanka

Dimuth Karunaratne will go down as one of the finest openers to have played the game of cricket. The Southpaw, who will become 7th player from Sri Lanka to play 100 Tests, so far has scored 7,172 runs at an average of just under 40 to go with 16 hundreds and 39 half-centuries.

He also played for a team in 50 ODIs and scored 1316 runs at an average of over 31. The opening batter slammed one century and 11 half-centuries. He also was captain of the team during the ICC World Cup 2019.

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