Dimuth Karunaratne Wants Sri Lanka In Top 4 Of ODI, Test Rankings

Sri Lanka skipper Dimuth Karunaratne on Sunday said that he wants the side to reach the top four in both Test and ODI rankings. "Rankings is the keyword. I would say Sri Lanka needs to be in the top four of not just ODI Cricket, but Test Cricket as well. That would indirectly mean semifinalists to say the least and you are perhaps two games away from the plum. There onwards, it's any bodies guess and if you do well on your day you could end up being World Champs," the official website of Sri Lanka Cricket quoted Karunaratne as saying. Sri Lanka are currently at the eighth spot in the ODI rankings, but the side whitewashed West Indies in the three-match ODI series earlier this year.

While the side is at the fifth spot in the Test rankings and the side had suffered a loss in the two-match Test series against Pakistan.

The left-handed Karunratne also laid down the impact of head coach Mickey Arthur, who was appointed the coach of Sri Lanka in December last year.

"Mickey is a no-nonsense cool bloke with loads of experience to back him and his brand. At the international level planning and role clarity is a norm," Karunaratne said.

"What is very important is the belief he has instilled among us in his own and subtle way. It surely helped and the result always speaks for itself," he added.

Karunaratne revived his limited-overs career last year as he was brought into the Sri Lankan side ahead of the 2019 Cricket World Cup. He was chosen as the skipper of the side, but he failed to guide Sri Lanka to the semi-finals of the tournament.

"The boys and the respective squads are enjoying their cricket and that makes my job that much easier. If you like what you are doing and the environment to do so is conducive, the balance at this level of sport becomes that much more beneficial," Karunaratne said.

Karunaratne has played 66 Tests and 31 ODIs for Sri Lanka so far. He has managed to score 5,207 runs across all formats.

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