Dimuth Karunaratne will retire from international cricket following his 100th Test match

Sri Lankan opening batsman Dimuth Karunaratne has decided to retire from international cricket after playing his 100th Test match against Australia in Galle.

Over the years, Karunaratne has been a key figure in Sri Lanka’s Test setup, scoring 7,172 runs at an average of 39.4 with 16 centuries and 39 half-centuries, making him one of Sri Lanka’s top-order batters.

A Farewell in Galle

As Karunaratne prepares for his final Test, Sri Lanka will look to give their veteran opener a memorable send-off. His contributions to Sri Lankan cricket, in red-ball cricket, will be remembered for years to come.

Karunaratne said it was hard to stay motivated since Sri Lanka plays only four Tests a year. With the Galle match ending the World Test Championship cycle, he felt it was the right time to step down.

"It is difficult for a Test player to keep himself motivated to play 4 Tests for a year and maintain his form.In the last 2-3 years after the WTC (World Test Championship) was introduced, we have been having very little bilateral series.My current form is another reason for completing my 100 Tests, the end of the WTC cycle (2023-25), I thought is the right time to retire".

"I thought I would retire first because I know I cannot go for my next target of 10,000 runs with the lesser number of Tests being played.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, "Any cricketer’s dream is to play 100 Tests and score 10,000 runs. It’s a big achievement. When you start playing cricket, you don’t think of those targets, but when you continue playing, you come across different targets. One of them is to play 100 Tests and the other is to achieve 10,000 runs.But as Sri Lanka are playing less Test matches for a year, getting to 10,000 runs seems far away. Appearing in 100 Tests I feel is an achievement."

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