Dimuth Karunaratne named Sri Lanka’s ODI Captain for 2019 Cricket World Cup

Opening batsman Dimuth Karunaratne has been named as new limited-overs captain for Sri Lanka for the upcoming ICC World Cup 2019. Karunaratne has not been a regular for Sri Lanka in limited-overs cricket. He has only played in 17 matches at an average of 15.83. He does have decent numbers in the List A cricket and averages 34.34 with the bat. He has scored six centuries in his List-A cricket.

Left-hander has shown exceptional leadership for Sri Lanka in the longer format of the game. He led Sri Lanka to a historic Test series win in South Africa. Under his leadership, Sri Lanka showed grit and determination to complete a clean sweep against South Africa in the two-match Test series. He was initially named as interim captain for South Africa tour, as Dinesh Chandimal was sacked from Test captaincy due to poor form.

Sri Lanka have certainly faced a turmoil in limited-overs cricket. The captaincy has changed hands back and forth between Dinesh Chandimal, Lasith Malinga and Angelo Matthews. Pace bowler Lasith Malinga was the latest to get sacked from one-day captaincy after Sri Lanka failed to win a game on South Africa tour.

Karunaratne was also involved in controversy as Sri Lanka Cricket Boarded fines due his involvement in the untoward incident. His driving license was revoked in this process. Sri Lanka have yet to finalize their 15-member squad for the upcoming Cricket World Cup 2019.

The Islanders have lost all their eight limited-over games played this year. It will certainly require a big effort from the players to turn things around in the format. Sri Lanka selectors will also consider players from domestic cricket, who taking part in the Inter-Provincial Cricket Tournament at the moment.

Wicket-keeper Kusal Perera has been declared fit and will be available for national selection which is certainly a great news for Sri Lanka in terms of 2019 Cricket World Cup.