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Dimuth Karunaratne is set to retire from Test cricket after playing his 100th Test
Karunaratne works hard to earn his spot among Sri Lanka's best players
Karunaratne Played 99 Tests and 50 ODIs with a 39.40 Test match average.
No test opener has been able to score as many runs as Dimuth Karunaratne since 2015. He has scored 15 centuries, which is the highest among openers. He has also hit 34 fifties, making him the most consistent opener over the past ten years. He has been selected for the ICC Test XI three times, an achievement no other opener has matched.
This week, as he plays his 100th Test, it's a good time to appreciate his career. His career has often been overlooked, even though being a Test opener in modern cricket is still significant. Making a name as a Test opener now requires scoring many boundaries and being from a prominent cricketing nation. Scoring half-centuries, handling new-ball spells, and managing spin are important skills, but they don't always get much attention in today's cricket world.
Karunaratne's career as an opener has been particularly challenging. Since 2015, the average for men's openers worldwide has been 33.71, lower than in previous decades. Openers have always faced the risk of getting out to swinging and seaming balls, but in the last ten years, new challenges have emerged. Spinners have become more effective with the new ball, and openers now face a combination of fast bowlers and experienced spinners, especially in Sri Lanka, where conditions can be tough. Without Karunaratne's contributions, openers in Sri Lanka have averaged 33.6 since 2015.
Few players have been as consistent for Sri Lanka in Test cricket as Dimuth Karunaratne. Sri Lanka's Test-match win-loss ratio fell from 1.31 between 2005 and 2014 to 0.81 since 2015, largely because they struggled to replace their great players. They haven't found spinners like Muthiah Muralidaran and Rangana Herath, seamers like Chaminda Vaas and Lasith Malinga, or top-order batters like Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene, and Aravinda de Silva. However, in terms of openers, Karunaratne stands out. While Sanath Jayasuriya and Tillakaratne Dilshan played with flair and Marvan Atapattu was technically sound, none of them were as prolific as Karunaratne, who scored 7,079 runs at the top of the order.
For most other positions in the XI, you could argue that Sri Lanka's late 2000s and early 2010s teams the golden generation were better. But Karunaratne makes you think twice.
Karunaratne was never considered Sri Lanka's golden boy. Unlike others who were seen as the next great Sri Lankan batters, he was always the hardworking opener and didn't receive the same level of attention from coaches and staff. Despite that, he outlasted nearly all of them. His career has been marked by gritty thirties and tough half-centuries. It's not a pretty career, but it's been effective. Karunaratne's runs came through patient prods outside off stump, strong lbw shouts, and inside edges into the pad.
His record shows a clear strength against spin, with 81% of his centuries coming in Asia. However, he has also scored hundreds in South Africa and New Zealand.
If Ravindra Jadeja and R Ashwin are the best spinners of this era, then few batters have handled them as effectively as Karunaratne. He scored centuries against them at SSC in 2017 and Bengaluru in 2022. These innings were classic Karunaratne – he didn't always dominate with big boundaries, but he found ways to stay at the crease and add runs. He has introduced new shots and improved his defense over the years, but his method has remained the same for 12 years.
Karunaratne also shows a remarkable humility. While bowlers might consider beating a batter's edge a small victory, for Karunaratne, it's just another chance to face the next ball.
It's a career worth celebrating, especially since it's nearing its end. Although Karunaratne hasn't officially announced his retirement, the signs are clear. He averaged 29.66 in 2024 and struggled against bowlers like Kagiso Rabada and Mitchell Starc, who has dismissed him nine times in Tests. Even if he plays exceptionally well in his upcoming matches, Sri Lanka will only play four Tests in 2025, with a sparse schedule for the next World Test Championship.
Reflecting on his career, it's uncertain how many more Sri Lankan cricketers will reach 100 Tests, especially openers. This might be the last chance to see such an achievement.
Karunaratne is the seventh Sri Lankan cricketer to reach this milestone, following Jayasuriya, Muralidaran, Vaas, Sangakkara, Jayawardene, and Angelo Mathews. He may be the least celebrated among them, but he undoubtedly deserves his place. While others have enjoyed hype and legend, Karunaratne's success has come from his hard, pragmatic runs.
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