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29 minutes ago
Sri Lanka opener Dimuth Karunaratne will retire from Test cricket after this week’s second Test against Australia in Galle, which will also be the opener’s 100th Test.
The 36-year-old left-hander has scored 7,172 runs in his 99 Tests, putting him fourth on Sri Lanka’s list of Test run-scorers behind team-mate Angelo Mathews and legendary pair Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene.
The Australia Test, in which Sri Lanka will bid to level the series after a heavy defeat last week, is also his side’s last in the current World Test Championship cycle.
Sri Lanka only have two more Tests scheduled before May 2026.
“It was the right time to go, considering there are three or four younger players who could come in for the next WTC cycle,” former captain Karunaratne told ESPNcricinfo.
“Plus, this match was in Galle, where I made my debut, so it will be nice to finish things there.”
Karunaratne captained Sri Lanka in 30 Tests between 2019 and 2023. He won 12 and lost 12 of his matches in charge with the highlight a 2-0 series win in South Africa.
He also played 50 one-day internationals – the most recent at the 2023 World Cup – but made his name as a consistent, gritty opener in red-ball cricket.
Since making his debut in November 2012, Australia’s David Warner is the only opener to have scored more Test runs.
But he has struggled for form recently, averaging 27.05 in 11 Tests since the start of 2024.
“Playing 100 Tests is a tough thing to accomplish, especially when you’re an opening batter and you’re doing the dirty work for the team,” Karunaratne said.
“If I have regrets, one of them would be not being able to get to 10,000 Test runs.
“I thought the way that I was going in 2017, 2018 and 2019, that I’d have the chance to get there but then Covid hit and Sri Lanka don’t play as many Tests anymore.”
