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Former Sri Lanka captain Dimuth Karunaratne has announced his retirement from Test cricket. Karunaratne who registered scores of 7 and 0 against Australia in the first Test of the series has decided to hang his boots. It will be Karunaratne's 100th Test match.
“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,” Karunaratne told Daily FT.
Karunaratne will retire as Sri Lanka's fourth-highest run-scorer in Tests. So far, the opener has scored 7,172 runs from 99 Tests at an average of 39.40 including 16 centuries and 39 fifties.
The recent dip in his form is the reason behind the retirement. His last Test century came against Ireland in April 2023. In last seven innings, he has not scored the fifty-run mark in red-ball cricket. His last half-century was against New Zealand in Galle. He failed against South Africa, scoring just 27 runs from two Tests.
The second Test of the Warne-Muralitharan Trophy 2025 wil start on February 6. It is also the last Test of the current World Test Championship (WTC) 2023-25 cycle. Sri Lanka are currently placed fifth on WTC table. Irrespective of the result of the second Test, they will maintain the fifth position.
Jayasuriya had question shot selection of Sri Lankan batters
The retirement decision came after head coach Sanath Jayasuriya criticised the shot selections of batters which led to defeat by an innings and 242 runs.
"There was a serious problem with shot selections, as well as with handling situations," Jayasuriya said. "I don't think certain players have handled situations well. They're experienced players, and they have to be more mature.
"These players have played a lot of cricket and should know how to play. I've talked to them about this. But we've got to talk to them in detail about this now. Also, we cannot blame the wicket. Because we saw how the wicket behaved. This was a very good wicket. For a long time, we haven't seen such a good wicket in Galle, on the third and fourth days."
Sri Lanka were bowled out for 165 in the first innings. Then Australia enforced follow-on. Sri Lanka were bowled out for 247 in the second innings. Dinesh Chandimal and Jeffrey Vandersay were the only half-centurions for the team in the losing cause.
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