Dimuth wants to join elite 10,000 run club

Dimuth Karunaratne, known for his consistency over past few years outlined his personal goal of reaching 1000 Test runs this year. Karunaratne who made a brisk 77 off 72, helping, alongside centurions Angelo Mathews (141) and Dinesh Chandimal (107) to take a substantial lead of 212 runs at the end of second day’s play in the one-off Test match against Afghanistan yesterday, is the only Sri Lankan to feature in the ICC’s Test team of the year 2023.

“If you take the last six or seven years I have been in good nick,” he said attending the post-match press conference. “I have played domestic games as well. We have nine Test matches this year and my aim is to make 1000 Test runs. We didn’t have many Tests in the last few years but I wanted to score big and be in the ICC Test XI of the year”.

Karunaratne who stepped down from the captaincy early this year, now wants to join the elite 10,000 run club, even though it remains a tall order for the 35-year-old opener. He has scored 6708 runs so far, playing 89 matches.

Looking forward, Karunaratne outlined ambitious career goals, aiming to play all Test matches this year, achieve 10,000 Test runs, and leave a lasting legacy.

“I want to leave a legacy when I am done. My first aim is to get to 100 Test matches. I am getting closer to 7000 runs and hopefully in three years time I would be able to get to that milestone”.

“I know that there are four guys who have scored more runs than me in Test cricket. It will be good if I can be among the top Sri Lankans with most runs in Test match cricket. I love this format and I get lot of satisfaction,” he added.

Karunaratne, though got a break in ODI cricket last year, after a twoyear lapse, he said his focus is the longer format.

“I didn’t go after white ball cricket. Since I was consistent with runs in one-dayers, I got an opportunity to play two World Cups. Whenever I am in Sri Lanka I play all domestic games. If you take opening batsmen, I am right up there. Usman Khawaja is someone who scored over 1000 runs last two years. I took a close look at his career. You need to have targets and when you have that you find motivation for yourself,” he explained.

Speaking on his recent decision to step down as captain, Karunaratne emphasized the relief from the pressure and his renewed focus on batting. "When you are no longer the captain, the pressure is off from you. I feel a difference. But even when I was captain, I didn’t take that off my batting. I tried to keep my mind free."