Dimuth Karunaratne appointed Sri Lanka's ODI captain

Karunaratne will lead the Sri Lanka ODI squad in the World Cup © Getty

Sri Lanka's national selectors put to an end days of speculation by appointing batsman Dimuth Karunaratne as captain of the Sri Lankan ODI team. This means the left-hander will lead the national side in the upcoming World Cup in England.

"Karunaratne's appointment was ratified by the Minister of Telecommunications, Foreign Employment and Sports Honorable Harin Fernando," Sri Lanka Cricket confirmed through a media release.

While most teams have been finalising their squads for the World Cup, Sri Lanka have been going through a tough time trying to figure out who can lead their charges in England come May, 2019.

Lasith Malinga, who was the captain on tour of South Africa, has been axed. Sri Lanka were humbled in the series, losing the ODI series 0-5 and the T20I series 0-2. The likes of Malinga, Angelo Mathews, Dinesh Chandimal and Thisara Perera have all led the side at various stages over the past two years. But with the mega tournament fast approaching, the selectors have gone with a slightly unconventional choice.

Karunaratne, who has not played a single ODI since the last World Cup, now finds himself in charge. The 30-year-old hardly has the numbers to show for such a big responsibility - scoring just 190 runs in 17 ODIs at an average that lesser than 16. But having led a struggling Sri Lankan side to a historic clean sweep of South Africa in South Africa in Tests in his first series as captain saw his name crop up for the ODIs too.

They selectors and the team will fervently hope that he enjoys the same golden touch with his ODI captaincy too.

Sri Lanka have struggled to be consistent as an ODI side over the last couple of years. They have only won once in their last 15 ODIs and will be desperate to turn their fortunes around.

The selectors are yet to name their squad for the World Cup.