Dimuth Karunaratne

Dimuth Karunaratne, a top-order left-handed batter, is a proud alumnus of St. Joseph's College in Colombo, a prestigious institution that has produced many Sri Lankan cricketing legends, including Chaminda Vaas. Dimuth impressed early on with consistent performances in the domestic circuit and at the U-19 level, which earned him his maiden international call-up. He made his ODI debut against England, marking the beginning of his international journey.

In 2011, Dimuth was included in Sri Lanka's Test squad for the tour of South Africa, though he didn’t get a chance to play in any of the matches. After being benched in subsequent series, he finally made his Test debut against New Zealand on November 17, 2012, stepping in for the injured Tillakaratne Dilshan. Opening alongside Paranavitana, Dimuth had a disappointing start, getting out for a duck in the first innings. However, he redeemed himself in the second innings with a composed, unbeaten 60 to guide Sri Lanka to victory. His Test career gained momentum when he notched up his maiden Test century, a gritty 152 off 363 balls, against New Zealand.

Dimuth’s journey faced a setback during the 2015 World Cup when he broke his right hand during a practice match and was ruled out of the tournament. Kusal Perera replaced him in the squad, forcing Dimuth to refocus his energies on Test cricket. This decision proved fruitful, as 2017 turned out to be a breakthrough year for him. He scored 1031 runs in Tests, becoming the second batsman after Dean Elgar to surpass 1000 runs that year. His career-best innings came later that year against Pakistan in Dubai, where he fell agonizingly short of a double century, scoring 196. His impressive form continued into 2018, amassing 743 runs in 9 Tests at an average of 46.43, earning him a spot in the ICC World Test XI.

After Dinesh Chandimal’s struggles with form and consistency, Dimuth was entrusted with the captaincy of the Sri Lankan Test side. His leadership proved instrumental as Sri Lanka created history in 2019, becoming the first Asian team to win a Test series in South Africa with a 2-0 triumph. Later that year, Dimuth was named captain of the Sri Lanka squad for the ODI World Cup. Despite his efforts, he couldn’t inspire a largely imbalanced side to greater heights, with Sri Lanka finishing sixth in the points table.