Dimuth Karunaratne has resorted to social media to reveal that he has been replaced as Sri Lanka’s Test captain by Dhananjaya de Silva.
Karunaratne won 12 of his 30 Tests as captain after replacing Dinesh Chandimal in 2019. He began with a 2-0 victory in South Africa, which was highlighted by Kusal Perera’s stunning unbeaten 153 in the first Test of the series.
Following that, Sri Lanka won as many games as they lost in the longest format under Karunaratne, with 12 defeats and six draws to his credit.
“Cricket fans world over, as I finally hand over the reins of the SL Test captaincy after a decent and memorable stint, who better other than to you Dhananjaya De Silva, an excellent all round athlete in my books,” he wrote on Facebook.
“Dhana, I’ve watched you grow and develop into a very matured and fantastic cricketer over the years… Smart, ice cool and a very shrewd cricket brain, I may add more so your own style you adapt and also that very famous smile you always wear every time on and off the field.
“I am very confident SL Test cricket is in very safe hands and will be going forward through your tenure as skipper.”
He added: “I’ll be there to support you on and off the field rest assured.”
Dhananjaya, who has played 51 Tests, will become Sri Lanka’s 18th Test captain. He has never held a senior position in Sri Lanka.
His promotion comes after more captaincy changes in white-ball cricket, with Dasun Shanaka being replaced as ODI captain by Kusal Mendis, and Wanindu Hasaranga taking over as T20I captain.
