Former Sri Lanka Test captain Dimuth Karunaratne has weighed in on the debate surrounding Niroshan Dickwella’s inclusion in Sri Lanka’s Test squad, saying the selectors may have considered his wicketkeeping ability and experience in the longer format.

Karunaratne said there had been considerable discussion and controversy over Dickwella’s selection.

However, he believes Anjala Bandara and Sadeera Samarawickrama are currently ahead of Dickwella in terms of recent form and batting performances.

Despite this, Karunaratne said the upcoming series represents an important opportunity for Dickwella to prove himself and could have a significant bearing on his future in Test cricket.

He also wished his former teammate well ahead of the series, describing it as potentially one of the most challenging and important of Dickwella’s career.

Dickwella has been recalled to Sri Lanka’s Test squad after a three-year absence from international cricket. (Newswire)

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The International Cricket Council (ICC) today completed announcements of the five ICC Teams of the Year across formats for men and women as part of the ICC Awards 2023.

The announcement of the five teams – the ICC Men’s and Women’s T20I Teams of the Year, the ICC Men’s and Women’s ODI Teams of the Year and the ICC Men’s Test Team of the Year – were made in a staggered manner over Monday and Tuesday and feature players from 11 teams selected on the basis of international performances through the calendar year.

Teams were identified from selections submitted by the specialist panel of media representatives that make up the ICC Voting Academy. The esteemed panel made their selections based on player performances during the calendar year, nominating their playing eleven to include a captain and a wicketkeeper.

The ICC Awards 2023 announcements will continue Wednesday and Thursday, when 13 individual award winners will be declared.

ICC Men’s Test Team of the Year:

1. Usman Khawaja (Aus)
2. Dimuth Karunaratne (SL)
3. Kane Williamson (NZ)
4. Joe Root (Eng)
5. Travis Head (Aus)
6. Ravindra Jadeja (Ind)
7. Alex Carey (WK, Aus)
8. Pat Cummins (Capt, Aus)
9. R Ashwin (Ind)
10. Mitchell Starc (Aus)
11. Stuart Broad (Eng)

Pat Cummins has been named as the captain of the ICC Men’s Test Team of the Year after leading his side to the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) title and finishing the year with 42 wickets at an average of 27.50 with three five-wicket hauls.

His fellow fast bowler Mitchell Starc has also been picked, as have been three other Australians, making them the most represented nation in the Test team. Opener Usman Khawaja, the only player to pass 1,000 Test runs in 2023 walks into the Test side for a second successive year with 1,210 runs at an average of 52.60 and three centuries. Travis Head, Player of the Match in the WTC Final, and wicketkeeper Alex Carey are the other Australia players named in the team.

India spinner R Ashwin, the No. 1 bowler in the ICC Men’s Test Player Rankings, and former England captain Joe Root, who are in the running for the ICC Men’s Test Player of the Year award along with Khawaja and Head, are also in the team. England and India have two players each with the selection of Ravindra Jadeja and Stuart Broad.

Sri Lanka opener Dimuth Karunaratne partners Khawaja atop the order, with New Zealand star Kane Williamson claiming the number three batting spot, as five international teams have representation in the Test team.

ICC Women’s ODI Team of the Year:

1. Phoebe Litchfield (Aus)
2. Chamari Athapaththu (Capt, SL)
3. Ellyse Perry (Aus)
4. Amelia Kerr (NZ)
5. Beth Mooney (WK, Aus)
6. Nat Sciver-Brunt (Eng)
7. Ash Gardner (Aus)
8. Annabel Sutherland (Aus)
9. Nadine de Klerk (SA)
10. Lea Tahuhu (NZ)
11. Nahida Akter (Ban)

The Australian dominance in Women’s ODI cricket is reflected in the team with five players featuring in it including rookie Phoebe Litchfield. Not having played an ODI before 2023, the 20-year-old opener made a huge impact in her first 13 matches, scoring 485 runs at an average of 53.88 and a strike rate of 81.92. She is a strong contender for the ICC Emerging Women’s Player of the Year award.

Ellyse Perry and wicketkeeper-batter Beth Mooney make the team after scoring over 400 runs each during the calendar year while Ash Gardner and Annabel Sutherland make it on the strength of performances with both bat and ball.

Left-handed opener Chamari Athapaththu, for long the batting mainstay for Sri Lanka, has been named captain of the side after scoring 415 runs in just eight matches at an average of 69.16 and a strike-rate of 125.37. Nat Sciver Brunt’s batting average of 131 in six matches earns her the number six slot.

New Zealand are the only other side apart from Australia to have more than one player in the Women’s ODI team as all-rounder Amelia Kerr and fast bowler Lea Tahuhu have both made it. All-rounder Nadine de Klerk of South Africa and Bangladesh’s left-arm spinner Nahida Akter complete the team.

Men’s ODI Team of the Year: 

1. Rohit Sharma (Capt, Ind)
2. Shubman Gill (Ind)
3. Travis Head (Aus)
4. Virat Kohli (Ind)
5. Daryl Mitchell (NZ)
6. Heinrich Klaasen (WK, SA)
7. Marco Jansen (SA)
8. Adam Zampa (Aus)
9. Mohammed Siraj (Ind)
10. Kuldeep Yadav (Ind)
11. Mohammed Shami (Ind)

Top-ranked ODI side India had a superb run last year and won all their matches in the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup before losing to Australia in the final. Their consistency is reflected in the selection of six players in the ICC Men’s ODI Team of the Year including both openers and a pair of fast bowlers.

The top three ODI run accumulators in 2023 – Shubman Gill (1,584 runs), Virat Kohli (1,377) and Rohit Sharma (1,255), who are currently ranked from second to fourth in the batting rankings – have been picked for three of the top four batting positions.

Head, who was named Player of the Match for a 120-ball 137 in the World Cup final in Ahmedabad, gets the number three position while New Zealand’s Daryl Mitchell is the number five batter. South Africa wicketkeeper Heinrich Klaasen is selected after notching 927 runs and accounting for 20 dismissals.

Wrist spinners Adam Zampa of Australia and Kuldeep Yadav of India have been named along with a seam attack that consists of Mohammad Shami (43 wickets in 2023) and Mohammad Siraj (44 wickets) of India and all-rounder Marco Jansen of South Africa.

Women’s T20I Team of the Year: 

1. Chamari Athapaththu (Capt, SL)
2. Beth Mooney (WK, Aus)
3. Laura Wolvaardt (SA)
4. Hayley Matthews (WI)
5. Nat Sciver-Brunt (Eng)
6. Amelia Kerr (NZ)
7. Ellyse Perry (Aus)
8. Ash Gardner (Aus)
9. Deepti Sharma (Ind)
10. Sophie Ecclestone (Eng)
11. Megan Schutt (Aus)

Athapaththu has the distinction of being named captain of both the ODI and T20I squads while Mooney, Sciver-Brunt, Amelia Kerr, Ellyse Perry and Ash Gardner are other players to make both women’s squads for the year.

Fourth in the list of batting aggregate with 470 runs at a strike rate of over 130, the Sri Lankan captain also grabbed eight wickets with her off-spin to take the first spot in the team with Mooney named to partner her at the top of the order.

Two more international captains – Hayley Matthews of the West Indies and Laura Wolvaardt of South Africa – also make it after remarkable years. Matthews was the most prolific with 700 runs in 14 matches at a strike rate of 132.32 while also grabbing 19 wickets. Wolvaardt scored 586 runs in 19 matches at a strike rate of 108.51.

Top-ranked Sophie Ecclestone’s 23 wickets in the year and third-ranked Deepti Sharma’s 21 wickets see them clinch the two spinners’ slots while Australia fast bowler Megan Schutt, ranked second, is the fourth Australian in the team, also having 21 scalps to show from last year.

Men’s T20I Team of the Year:

1. Yashasvi Jaiswal (Ind)
2. Phil Salt (Eng)
3. Nicholas Pooran (WK, WI)
4. Suryakumar Yadav (Capt, Ind)
5. Mark Chapman (NZ)
6. Sikandar Raza (Zim)
7. Alpesh Ramjani (Uga)
8. Mark Adair (Ire)
9. Ravi Bishnoi (Ind)
10. Richard Ngarava (Zim)
11. Arshdeep Singh (Ind)

Top-ranked India have four players in the Men’s T20I squad with flamboyant batter Suryakumar Yadav named captain. Yadav topped the runs chart with 733 runs in 18 matches at a strike rate of 155.95 to consolidate his position at the top of the rankings.

The next three in the list of run scorers the past year – Mark Chapman of New Zealand (576 runs), Zimbabwe star Sikandar Raza (515) and upcoming India batter Yashasvi Jaisal (430) – were automatic choices while Phil Salt of England and Nicholas Pooran of the West Indies too had enough to stake claims.

Uganda’s Alpesh Ramjani became the first from his country to be named in an ICC Team of the Year when the left-handed all-rounder made it this year after scoring 449 runs and grabbing 55 wickets with his slow bowling. Ramjani is in contention for the Men’s T20I Cricketer of the Year award as well as being eligible for the ICC Men’s Associate Cricketer of the Year.

Ireland have a representative in Mark Adair as do Zimbabwe in Richard Ngarava. India’s leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi and left-arm seam bowler Arshdeep Singh also make the team on the back of some fine international performances during 2023.

The individual awards will be announced on Wednesday and Thursday as per schedule announced in the media release here. (ICC)

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Outgoing Sri Lanka Test skipper Dimuth Karunaratne has expressed his public support for new skipper Dhananjaya de Silva.

In a special message to his fellow cricketer, Dimuth Karunaratne heaped praise on Dhananjaya de Silva and his growth over the past few years. 

Dimuth Karunaratne also assured support on and off the field during Dhananjaya de Silva’s tenure. 

Outgoing Test skipper Dimuth Karunaratne’s message is as follows;

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.

Dhana I’ve watched you grow & develop into a very mature 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 & 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. I’ll be there to support you on and off the field rest assured. Cheers & Blessings Bro (NewsWire)

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Sri Lanka must analyze its review tactics to strengthen its gameplay, Sri Lanka Test skipper Dimuth Karunaratne said.

Speaking to the media yesterday, Karunaratne said that several of the reviews called by the team during the first test against Pakistan had been misjudged.

“A review is called for after discussion with the bowler and the wicketkeeper. I, as the captain make a call on the review based on the feedback from the bowler and wicket-keeper. But when we check the ball would have turned differently or not touched the wicket at all,” he explained.

Stating that most often the captain gets called out for the review decision, Karunaratne said the skipper will always look foolish for making such a call.

Karunaratne further stated that he always backs the decisions of his bowlers and wicketkeepers on calling for reviews.

The skipper pointed out that it was now essential to analyze and work on making good use of reviews and minimise misjudgements.

“The misjudging of reviews is a loss for the team and can be crucial during a tight game. We will have to focus on making the right use of reviews and what could be done differently,” he added. (NewsWire)

Sri Lanka must analyze its review tactics to strengthen its gameplay, Sri Lanka Test skipper Dimuth Karunaratne said "Captain might look foolish when we make a wrong call" pic.twitter.com/ox3mqYZyv4

— NewsWire (@NewsWireLK) July 21, 2023

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