Karunaratne feels anchor's role is still relevant in SL cricket

 by  Atif Azam  •  Published on Wed, May 31, 2023, 06:52 AM

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Dimuth Karunaratne has been playing for the Shinepukur Cricket Club
Dimuth Karunaratne has been playing for the Shinepukur Cricket Club © Cricbuzz

It has been more than two years since he last played ODI cricket but Dimuth Karunaratne feels he still has something to offer to the team in the 50-over format. Recalled to the side for the ODI series against Afghanistan, the 35-year-old has been preparing for it by playing in the Dhaka Premier League, representing the Shinepukur Cricket Club.

Karunaratne, who led Sri Lanka in the 2019 ODI World Cup, played three more series after that before being left out of the side. "I played only a few games for Sri Lanka (after the 2019 World Cup) and then a couple of matches for club cricket and nothing else, and I just played lots of red-ball cricket. When I got dropped from the national side I did really well and I had an average of more than 40 at that time and scored a few fifties and at the same time we had seven 100-plus partnerships for Sri Lanka.

"I think we did our part, with Kusal Janith and Avishka Fernando and I did my job really well and that is what is expected out of me from the selectors and I did that. Selectors told me to bat till 40th over and play the anchor role and I did that," he said. "The new selectors told something different and their vision is different and what they want to bring to the Sri Lanka side and we respect it.

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