“He
is like my brother”, says Thisara Perera about Dimuth Karunaratne, while the
results for Sri Lanka in recent times have been a mixed one, but there is a sense
of calmness in the way Dimuth Karunratne has led the side, Sri Lanka has at
least created a much-needed bond on the field amid all the other controversies
off the field
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| Karunaratne might be the man Sri Lanka were looking for |
Sri Lanka is not
Australia, England or India, neither they are Pakistan or South Africa, in terms
of fan following or structure available to cricketers but in spite of a system
which has deteriorated considerably in the recent years, they have produced
some of the most wonderful and unique cricketer's world cricket has ever seen.
However, the way the country’s cricket has fallen down the radar, both off the
field and on the field in the last four years(2015-2019), It can be witnessed in
their performance. They have suffered one loss after the other on the field
while off the field, the country’s administration has been maligned by a plethora
of controversies.
However, the
appointment of Dimuth Karunaratne as the leader of the side has sprung up some
big surprises. The Test series win in South Africa was a historic one,
finishing at number 6th in World Cup was beyond expectations and the whitewash of Bangladesh, who has troubled them off late was signal of the start of a new era, add the win against, a strong New Zealand side in the first test which has
yielded them 60 points in Test championship and you might start thinking that
good days lie ahead.
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| The Big Challenges for him though lies ahead to find success in a broken system |
Amid all the
results, there is a sense of positivism among every one related to Sri Lankan
cricket, Niroshan Dickwella has hailed Karunaratne as a very calm and sensible
captain who trusts his players and gives constructive criticism. He gives
them the freedom to express themselves. On the other hand, experts have called
him a very calm and sensible personality who knows how to get the best out of the
players.
The man who is
in center of focus is not thinking about all this, he is taking each game at a
time, he knows he might be the best Sri Lankan batsman off late but he has
witnessed that even the best like Angelo Matthews and Lasith Malinga have not
been treated very well by the country’s cricket administration. So, he is enjoying his
time in the sun that is probably the secret of success for Karunaratne as a
captain, but what is his secret for success as a batsman?
Karunaratne
reveals he, is deeply into stats, he tries to analyze the best in the business
and tries to target to reach them. This is the habit he had adopted since his
early days in the domestic circuit when he started playing for Sinhalese Sports
Club (SSC). Tharanga Paranavitana, the domestic stalwart was the first person
whom he started to follow on Cricinfo, aiming to catch up his stats. He has the
habit to check his stats on a weekly basis. He did the same at the school
following Angelo Matthews and trying his best to outscore him. Later, Kaushal
Silva became center of focus, Dean Elgar the South African batsman who has a better record than Karunaratne didn’t go unnoticed, being a left-hander and
opening batsman just like Dimuth, he is the one whom Karunaratne is trying to
beat these days. Elgar has test average of 38.77 and is just ahead than ever-improving Sri Lankan Captain who has been Sri Lanka’s best test batsman in past
2 years.
It is this attitude of Karunaratne, which ensures that Sri Lankan cricket is always hungry
and looking for success. The desire to win that he brings with himself is the
one that Sri Lanka needed very dearly after four years of a bumpy ride. The start
has been fantastic with Sri Lanka winning all of the three Tests that they have
played under. However, Karunaratne knows that it is not easy to lead a country
which has an unstable cricket administration, where domestic cricket structure
keeps on changing every few years, where none of the coaches have been able to
complete their tenure in recent years and captains have been changed like musical
chairs. The way Angelo Matthews, Lasith Malinga and now coach Chandika Hathurusinghe
have been treated, Karunaratne knows nothing is permanent especially in Sri Lanka.
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| With High Profile, Chandika Hathurusinghe out can Dimuth feel the security |
However, in
spite of all the obstacles he has in his way, the 61 Test veteran is committed
to take Sri Lanka back to winning ways. This is the reason why he apologized to
whole country after drunk and drive incident which occurred just a few weeks
after the team was welcomed like heroes after returning from a triumphant tour
of South Africa. Karunaratne desires to score 25 hundred. At present, he has 9
centuries out of 61 Tests and with 4235 runs he is 11th highest run
scorer of Sri Lanka. The way he is scoring, by the end of his career he might
finish at no.3, just behind greats Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara, till
then he will be the man who will lead Sri Lanka from the glut of darkness to
the light of success.
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