At the end of the The Dark Night, Commissioner James Gordon reluctantly declares that the late Harvey Dent, was “not the hero we deserved, but the hero we needed.” He instead casts Batman as the villain to preserve hope and peace in the crime-ridden streets of Gotham.

Sri Lankan cricket, too, needed a hero in an era of turbulence. The past decade for Sri Lanka hasn’t been all that great, it’s been pretty bleak to be completely honest.

Amidst this time of inconsistency and decline, Sri Lanka found a steady presence in Dimuth Karunaratne. Now that Karunaratne has decided to hang up his boots after his 100th Test, it’s time to reflect back on a stellar career.

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The Never-Ending Transition After the Golden Generation

Until not too long ago, it felt like Sri Lanka were in a never-ending transition cycle.

Between 2007 to 2015, Sri Lanka advanced to the semi-finals of six ICC tournaments, finished as the runners up on four occasions, and finally clinched the 2014 T20 World Cup. Their worst performance? A quarter-final exit. Yeah, digest that.

As the golden generation—Jayasuriya, Dilshan, Sangakkara, Jayawardene, Samaraweera, Kulasekera, Vaas, Malinga, and Muralitharan—faded into the history books, it was time for the next generation to step up. Angelo Mathews, Dinesh Chandimal, Kusal Perera, and Lahiru Thirimanne were expected to carry the mantle with the legend of Herath hanging around for seasoned support.

This didn’t exactly go to plan. While the next-gen delivered a few memorable moments, they were usually in and out of the squads and their performances have often fallen short of expectations.

In seven ICC tournaments since 2015, Sri Lanka has yet to make it past the Group stage (Super 10s/Super 12s in T20 World Cups) and even crashed out of the group stage in the 2016 & 2018 Asia Cups!

The situation in Test cricket was just as grim. Between 2015 and the beginning of the WTC in July 2019, Sri Lanka lost 24 Tests and only won 19. In comparison, they had won 30 Tests and only lost 23 Tests in the nine years prior (2006-14).

A nation once celebrated for producing one gem after another had hit rock bottom. It began to feel as though the Pearl of the Indian Ocean had lost its luster.

Also Read: Lasith Malinga: The Slinga, Slayer, and SuperStar

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Dimuth Karunaratne Enters the Scene

That’s where Karunaratne comes in, the one who bridged the gap between two generations. Karunaratne debuted alongside Sangakkara-Mahela-Samaraweera-Mathews and helped Sri Lanka make the transition.

Karunaratne’s first few years were not terrible, but they were definitely not a Kamindu Mendis-esque start either.

Though he began with a three-ball duck on debut, he quickly bouced back with a composed 60* in the second innings. In an interview with ESPNCricinfo, Karunaratne recalls that

“I went to the middle with so many expectations, and I got out for a duck first innings. I thought I’d lost all the hard work I ever did in just a moment. I was only there as an injury replacement, so I thought I’d never play for Sri Lanka again.“

He would further showcase his talent with a 85 in Sydney (where another opener named David Warner would also score 85 incidentally).

In his early years, he had several glittering starts, but only a few fifties, and even fewer tons, Averages of 22, 28.62, 42.83, 36.61, and 29.29 from 2012 through 2016 didn’t do justice to his talent, and he was dropped after two years. However, his recall to the side was a turning point with the 152 at Christchurch becoming one of his career highlights.

“There are two – my maiden hundred against New Zealand. It was the first match I was playing after getting back into the team…That was a really tough hundred for me, against a great New Zealand attack…Then there’s my hundred at the SSC, against Jadeja and Ashwin. That was a pitch that took extreme turn.”

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In a Tough Era for Openers, Karunaratne Shines

2017 was the year that everything seemed to come together with his batting: 126 vs Bangladesh, 97 & 141 vs India, and 196 vs Pakistan in the UAE.

Asia was conquered.

After Christchurch & Sydney, his celebrated overseas performances would include 103 in Johannesburg (2021) and 107 at Bengaluru (2022).

Now let’s talk about the stats. He scored most runs as an opener for Sri Lanka (7129), comfortably ahead of Jayasuriya’s 5932 and ended as Lanka’s 4th highest Test run scorer ever.

But since no 2017, no opener dominated Test cricket as Karunaratne did. Since 2017, he tops all the charts as opener: Most Runs, most balls faced, most minutes batted, most 50+ scores, most 100s, and even most 4s!

During this period, Dimuth Karunaratne inevitably holds the other batting records

♦️ Most 50+ Scores
40 – Karunaratne 🇱🇰
28 – Elgar 🇿🇦 Latham 🇳🇿
26 – Brathwaite 🌴
24 – Warner 🇦🇺

♦️ Most 100s
12 – Karunaratne 🇱🇰
9 – Elgar 🇿🇦 Rohit 🇮🇳 Warner 🇦🇺
8 – Latham 🇳🇿
7 – Brathwaite 🌴… https://t.co/nXFd24ezua

— Broken Cricket Dreams Cricket Blog (@cricket_broken) February 9, 2025

Openers in the last ten years have struggled across almost all conditions, averaging in the lower 30s. Even Sir Alastair Cook’s averages declined in the latter part of his career due to the challenging conditions.

To end up as the most prolific opening batter for your country is no joke. To be the best in the world for a decade is a next level feat altogether.

Instability and the Constant Revolving Door

Every Sri Lanka squad announcement for ICC tournaments after 2015 felt like a luck of the draw. Multiple players would be dropped, Tharangas and Kapugederas would magically make comebacks after years of absence, and new captains would be selected.

Sri Lanka’s Test openers in the last ten years were a revolving door as well: Tharanga, Thirimanne, Nissanka, Kusal Mendis, Vithanage, Kaushal Silva, Dickwella, Dilruwan Perera, Kusal Perera, Udawatte, Samarawickrama, Oshada Fernando, Gunathilaka.

To put Karunaratne’s accomplishments in perspective, he would play 157 innings as an opener after 2015. Kaushal Silva was the next best with 43 innings.

Furthermore, Sri Lanka cricket usually sees less controversies than their Asian counterparts (in non-Bangladesh matches, of course), but in 2022, Gunathilaka-Mendis-Dickwella were handed bans due to disciplinary bio-secure bubble breach. Gunathilaka would later fall into more trouble.

Amidst all these distractions, there was one stable constant, Karunaratne.

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Karunaratne, the Captain, Leaves His Mark

The player switcheroo would in ODI cricket even as late as 2019.

On the eve of the 2019 ODI World Cup, Upul Tharanga and a few others were dropped, while Karunaratne was recalled as a specialist captain. He had last played an ODI in the 2015 ODI World Cup, but selectors had a good reason to get Karunaratne back into the blue & yellow jersey:

“We saw in South Africa how Dimuth was able to unite the team, and have everyone playing together. That was what was important to us at this time.

Sri Lanka ended as 6th in the 2019 ODI World Cup and their shock win against favorites England kept the World Cup alive. 2019 would also see one of the greatest Test victories of all time with Kusal Perera’s 153*, where Sri Lanka became the first Asian country to win a Test series in South Africa:

“It’s the biggest highlight. Captaincy was never something I’d chased….It’s one of my favorite chapters of my career.”

Karunaratne led with humility and quiet confidence, captaining Sri Lanka in 30 Tests with 12 wins and 6 draws.

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The Legacy: What Will I Remember from Karunaratne’s Career?

This week feels like a week for underrated cricketers.

Wriddhiman Saha bid adieu to his cricketing career, Ricky Ponting hailed Jacques Kallis as the ‘best cricketer of all time’, and Dimuth Karunaratne retired on his 100th Test.

Karunaratne retires yes, but tomorrow, the world will go on. Parades won’t be blocking the streets, trains will not stop, the stock market will not crash, and people will continue to go about their business as usual.

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Karunaratne’s Broken Dreams

In the large scheme of things, nothing much has changed. However, in the small country of Sri Lanka, Karunaratne’s contribution made a monumental difference and will never be forgotten. And that is all that matters.

“When people reminisce about cricket, they think about Tests. We’re still talking about Don Bradman’s records, how many double centuries he’s scored, in how many innings. Whatever happens to me from here, there might be a list that goes up on a Test broadcast, and my son or my grandchildren will see that. I’ve got that record for life, and beyond. That’s worth a lot to me.“

Karunaratne had dreamed of playing 100 Tests and scoring 10,000 runs. Unfortunately the 10,000 runs did not happen (and may not ever happen again for Sri Lanka given how Test cricket is going for tier two nations, but that’s a different story), but he can hold his head high for all that he has accomplished.

What Can We Learn from Dimuth Karunaratne?

Author Bryant McGill once stated,

“I’ll take reliability and dependability over talent any day of the week.”

Did Karunaratne spark a white-ball revolution like Eoin Morgan? Did he redefine Test cricket mentality like Kohli or embrace the audacity and do whatever Ben Stokes is doing with Bazball? No, Karunaratne was an unassuming, yet effective leader.

Did he have batting mannerisms like Elgar or Smith, an aura like Cook or Khawaja, or the swagger like Warner or Rohit? No. But he was unquestionably reliable, dependent, and consistent, exactly what Sri Lankan cricket needed at that time.

In an era of uncertainty, Sri Lanka could always rely on Dimuth. He may not have been a superstar, but in the era of uncertainty, Sri Lanka didn’t need any more superstars.

So indeed, Karunaratne was the hero Sri Lanka needed, not the one they deserved. Karunaratne can take pride in the fact that he has left Sri Lankan cricket in a better place.

What will he be doing next? He has now moved his base to Australia and will spend time honing his coaching skills. Do not be surprised if he returns to Sri Lanka to serve his country once again in different roles. For Karunaratne, team always comes first, and he will continue to serve Sri Lankan cricket for as long as he can.

I will leave you with his emotional goodbye in the 2nd Test against Australia, in which he ended his speech with,

“This is cricket, you have to go one day.”

****

Thank you all for reading this far!

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Check out the entire list of tributes in Cricketers Biographies & Tributes.

© Copyright @Nitesh Mathur and Broken Cricket Dreams, LLC 2023. Originally published on 02/08/2025. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Broken Cricket Dreams with appropriate and specific direction to the original content (i.e. linked to the exact post/article).