Reports: Dimuth Karunaratne to announce international retirement after second Test in Galle

Former Sri Lanka captain, Dimuth Karunaratne will potentially bid adieu to international with the second Test against Australia in Galle. Karunaratne has played 99 Tests scoring 7172 runs at an average of 39.40 with 16 Tons to his name. He will play his 100th Test in Galle and has planned to hang his boots after reaching the milestone. 

According to NewsWire, the 36-year-old has informed Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) about the decision ahead of the game. Speaking of his outing in the first Test, he scored just seven runs in the first innings and got out for a duck in the second innings as Sri Lanka lost the game by an innings and 242 runs. His poor form with the bat has concerned him a lot as his last century came in April 2023 against Ireland. 

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Just before the ongoing Australia series, Sri Lanka toured South Africa and the veteran’s struggle to come among runs was palpable. He batted in four innings and scored just 27 runs as the visitors were whitewashed. He stepped down from the captaincy position in January 2024 after assuming captaincy back in 2019. 

First Asian captain to win Test series in South Africa 

He has led the side in whites in 30 Tests and Sri Lanka have won 12 of them with a win percentage of 40. His standout achievement as skipper was to lead the side to a series win in South Africa. Sri Lanka remain the only men's Test team from Asia to win a series in South Africa. 

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"Cricket Fans world over, as I finally hand over the reigns of the SL Test Captaincy [sic] after a decent and memorable stint, who better other than to you, Dhananjaya De Silva, an excellent all-round athlete in my books," Karunaratne wrote on Facebook after stepping down.