Dimuth Karunaratne Sheds Light On Sri Lanka's Top Target When Cricket Resumes

Sri Lankan skipper Dimuth Karunaratne has lauded the new head coach, Mickey Arthur and also shed light on the team’s plans when cricket resumes. Dimuth Karunaratne has cleared that the prime aim of the team would be to win a lot of games and improve in the world rankings, especially in ODIs and Test cricket.

Sri Lanka are not in a good position in world cricket for quite some time now. They had a poor World Cup outing last year and have been below average across all formats in international cricket. Currently, the Sri Lankan team is placed at the 8th spot in ICC ODI Team Rankings with a rating of 85. In Tests, however, they are placed on the fifth position with a rating of 91.

With no cricketing action around the corner due to COVID-19, Dimuth Karunaratne has cleared as to what will be Sri Lanka’s top target when the game resumes.

Dimuth Karunaratne Opens Up On Sri Lanka’s Aim When Cricket Resumes

“Mickey is a no-nonsense cool bloke with loads of experience to back him and his brand. At the international level planning and role clarity is a norm. What is very important is the belief he has instilled among us in his own and subtle way. It sure helped and the results always speak for itself,” Dimuth Karunaratne told Sri Lanka Cricket in a Q&A session on their official website cricket.lk.

“Rankings is the key word. I’d say Sri Lanka needs to be in the top four of not just ODI cricket, but Test cricket as well. That would indirectly mean semifinalists to say the least and you are perhaps two games away from the plum. There onwards, it’s anybody’s guess and if you do well on your day you could end up being World champs,” said the 32-year old.

I Am Learning From Every Game: Dimuth Karunaratne

“The boys and the respective squads are enjoying their cricket and that makes my job that much easier,” he said of his role. “If you like what you are doing and the environment to do so is conducive, the balance at this level of sport becomes that much more beneficial. I think its pretty similar to life or managing a company,” Dimuth Karunaratne added.

“I have nine centuries from 66 Test matches, while many will argue that I should or could have converted some of the 24 half-centuries I scored into centuries, thus increasing my overall tally of centuries. However, I am learning from each game. Test cricket is super supreme and it’s certainly not a walk in the park! The stretched goal is 25 centuries and a 50+ average,” Karunaratne added.

Also Read: ECB Working Closely With The Government To Resume Cricket Amid COVID-19 Crisis