Dimuth to reconsider decision to quit Test captaincy
Test skipper Dimuth Karunaratne has agreed to reconsider his decision to step down from captaincy following a request from cricket selectors. After Sri Lanka were whitewashed in the recent two-match Test series in New Zealand, the southpaw announced his decision to step down at the conclusion of the two-match home series against Ireland starting next Sunday in Galle.
After four years in the job, and with a fresh World Test Championship (WTC) cycle looming, Karunaratne wants to hand over the position to a new captain for the next cycle. He named his deputy Dhananjaya de Silva to replace him.
However, things have changed since then. His offer to resign was not accepted by the selectors who had asked Karunaratne to reconsider.
“I told them I will,” said Karunaratne, who will turn 35 on April 21. “But I want to talk to them about how to go about it. Whether they want me to do the full cycle of two years or to do it till the end of this year and then hand the baton over. I will discuss this further with the selectors during the Ireland series”.
Karunaratne was offered the job in 2019 when the national team was going through a turbulent period and he managed to bring in some stability. On his very first tour, he managed to whitewash South Africa 2-0 in South Africa, becoming the first team from the sub-continent to achieve the feat.
He has led the team from the front. His batting has improved and he has scored 2242 runs in 26 games at 47.70. Out of his 14 Test hundreds, six were while leading the side. Karunaratne also had a positive impact on his teammates. His appointment came totally unexpected to him but he was excited at the honour of leading his country. He knew the challenges and worked on creating an environment for the cricketers to play with freedom.
His decision to step down was largely as he wanted a new captain to bloom.
“As I said earlier, I think it’s best if a new captain does that whole cycle than me doing half and handing over. My preference was to hand over to a new leader after the next series, but now that the selectors have made a request, I will reconsider it,” he added.