Former Sri Lanka skipper and politician Arjuna Ranatunga applauded Dimuth Karunaratne for stepping down from the Test captaincy role. Notably, Karunaratne after getting knocked out of the WTC final race, decided to step down from captaincy after suffering the loss at the hands of New Zealand in the first Test at Christchurch.
“I applaud Dimuth for stepping aside. It is a good decision since it will help Sri Lanka groom another captain with the next World Test Championship final in mind,” Ranatunga said.
“I have not seen any former cricket captains make a decision like this in the past, and I admire him for that,” he added.
‘I am yet to hear from selectors what they think about my decision’ – Karunaratne on his decision to step down
“I have informed the selectors that it’s good to appoint a new captain for the new test cycle, so I am ready to step down after the Ireland series. I am yet to hear from selectors what they think about my decision, but I feel I need to give the new captain to start from the beginning of the new test cycle, rather me stepping down from the middle of it,” Karunaratne was quoted as saying by Newswire.
Karunaratne will captain Sri Lanka for one last time in the forthcoming series against the Irish at home.
