Who is Sri Lanka all-rounder Chamika Karunaratne? Details here
Sri Lanka have suffered a major blow as their captain Dasun Shanaka is ruled out for the remainder of the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup. Chamika Karunaratne will replace Shanaka as an injury replacement in the ongoing tournament. The 27-year-old will be a like-for-like replacement for the Lankan Lions. Karunaratne was included in the team as a traveling reserve. Here's more.
Why does this story matter?
Shanaka sustained a quadriceps injury while bowling against Pakistan in the previous match. It will take around three weeks or so to heal and in that time majority of the round-robin matches will be over. So they decided to bring in Karunaratne as his replacement. The 27-year-old all-rounder will add more depth to their bowling attack and can also bat a bit.
Who is Chamika Karunaratne?
Hailing from the capital city, Colombo, Karunaratne was born on May 29, 1996. He had a knack for sports during his college days and captained his college team in various sports. Karunaratne made his international debut for SL in November 2019 against Australia in the second Test. He was also a part of SL's T20 World Cup squads in 2021 and again in 2022.
How did Karunaratne fare in the two T20 World Cups?
Karunaratne featured in eight matches and returned with six wickets from the 2021 T20 World Cup. He had an economy rate of 7.33. In the 2022 T20 World Cup, the bowling all-rounder claimed three wickets from seven matches with an economy of eight. He scored 19 and 32 runs in the two T20 World Cups respectively as he got very limited chances to bat.
A look at his ODI numbers
The 27-year-old all-rounder has played 23 ODIs and has returned with 24 scalps at an average of 28.83. Karunaratne has maintained an economy rate of 5.72 in this format. His best bowling figures of 4/43 came against New Zealand earlier this year in Eden Park With the bat, he has amassed 443 runs at an average of 27.68. His only fifty came against Australia.
KKR bought Karunaratne in the 2022 IPL auction
Indian Premier League (IPL) team, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) bought Karunaratne for his base price of Rs. 50 lakh in the 2022 auction. He was mostly picked as a cover for their primary pacers but he never got an opportunity to play.
A look at his overall bowling stats
Karunaratne has featured in only one Test and has scalped a single wicket. The bowling all-rounder has returned with 24 wickets in 42 T20Is at 39.70. He has also claimed 77 wickets in 40 First-Class matches while snaring 104 wickets in 86 List A matches. In 101 T20s, Karunaratne has picked up 64 scalps at 32.64. He has an economy rate of 8.47.
Here's his overall batting stats
Karunaratne is no mug with the bat as he has slammed nine fifties and a solitary ton in 40 First-Class matches. He has amassed 1,314 runs in First-Class cricket at 23.46. He has returned with 291 runs in 42 T20Is at a strike rate of 106.20. The all-rounder has scored 1,206 runs in 86 List A clashes at 25.65. He has compiled five fifties.
