Dimuth Karunaratne Announces Retirement From Sri Lanka Cricket After Completing 100 Tests

Dimuth Karunaratne, former Sri Lanka captain, has announced his retirement from the game after the second Test against Australia in Galle. This will also be Karunaratne’s 100^th Test for Sri Lanka.

Dimuth Karunaratne's career will conclude after 100 Tests, with the second Test against the Australian National Cricket Team. The match begins on Thursday (6th February), and his retirement will undoubtedly mark the end of an era in Sri Lankan cricket.

Dimuth Karunaratne has been an outstanding servant to the Sri Lanka National Cricket Team in Tests. He has played a significant role in the team's successful comeback in international cricket. Aside from his accomplishments as a batter, he also led the team.

After completing 100 Tests for Sri Lanka, I thought it was the right time to retire - Dimuth Karunaratne

Dimuth Karunaratne will be remembered as one of the best openers in cricket history. The Southpaw, who will become Sri Lanka's seventh player to play 100 Tests, has scored 7,172 runs at an average of slightly under 40, including 16 hundreds and 39 half-centuries.

Dimuth Karunaratne, who has been struggling to maintain his form, believes retiring after 100 games would be perfect. Speaking with the 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."

Karunaratne revealed that he will move to Australia with family and said that he discussed it with Angelo Mathews and Dinesh Chandimal before taking the decision.

“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 could not go for my next target – 10,000 runs – with a 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,” he said.

It'll be great if I can score a 100 in my 100^th Test: Dimuth Karunaratne

Dimuth Karunaratne, who scored a century in his 50th Test match, is hoping for another century in the next Test against the Australia National Cricket Team. He stated that reaching his century would be beneficial to him.

Dimuth Karunaratne also expressed satisfaction with his career, noting that appearing in 100 Tests for his side is a significant success for him.

“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. 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 is playing fewer Test matches for a year, getting to 10,000 runs seems far away. Appearing in 100 Tests I feel is an achievement,” he said.

He also represented a side in 50 ODIs, scoring 1316 runs at an average of more than 31. The first batter scored one century and eleven half-centuries. He also captained the side in the 2019 ICC World Cup.

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