SL vs AUS | Dimuth Karunaratne set to retire after 100th Test in Galle
Dimuth Karunaratne is set to retire from International cricket after the second Test against Australia at the Galle International Stadium. This will also be his 100th Test match as Sri Lanka looks to level the two-match series that holds little value in the current World Test Championship cycle.
The former Sri Lanka captain is set to play his 100th Test against Australia. Having made his debut against New Zealand in 2012, he scored 7172 runs at an average of 39.40. His batting graph has surged low in recent times with the batting average falling to 29.66 in 2024. He could manage just seven runs across both innings against the mighty OZ in the first Test. Following a series of low scores, the elegant southpaw has made the difficult decision to make way for youngsters in Sri Lanka’s red-ball setup.
Karunaratne’s individual best in Tests came against Pakistan where the left-handed batter scored 196 in the first innings of the second Test in 2017. It set up their 482 runs first innings total, assisting in a 68-run win over the Men in Green. He also played 50 ODIs for Sri Lanka, scoring 1316 runs at an average of 31.33, scoring a solo century.
The retirement of Karunaratne would mean an extended opportunity for batters such as Pathum Nissanka and Oshada Fernando.
The second Test between Sri Lanka and Australia kicks off on February 6.