The skipper Dimuth Karunaratne from Sri Lanka has said he wants the side to be the top four in the international rankings of testing as well as one day.
“Rankings are the keyword. I would like to say that Sri Lanka doesn’t need to rank not only in the ODI Cricket but also needs to be ranked in the test cricket. It simply means that there are semi-finalists and maybe two games far from the feather. It’s everyone’s speculation, so you’re likely to become world champions if that day’s going right,” Karunaratne said in the Official Sri Lanka Cricket website.
Sri Lanka is now on the 8th position in ODI, but West Indies washed up on its side earlier this year in the three-match ODI series.
So far, Karunaratne has played for Sri Lanka in 66 tests and 31 ODIs. He has scored 5207 runs in every format.
At fifth in the test ranking, the side was affected by a loss in Pakistan’s two-match test series.
The left-handed Karunratne also settled the impact of head coach Mickey Arthur who was appointed as the Sri Lanka Coach in December last year.
“Mickey is a cool bloke with many experiences that support him and his brand. Planning and clarity of roles at the international level is the norm, “said Karunaratne.
“The confidence that he has inspired among us in his own subtle way is extremely significant,” he said. “He definitely helped, and the outcome is often he added.
Last year Karunaratne revived his brief career when he joins Sri Lanka before the 2019 Cricket World Cup. He was chosen as the team skipper, but he wasn’t able to lead Sri Lanka into the tournament semi-finals.
“Boys and squads love sport, which makes my job so much easier. If you want to do and the atmosphere is conducive to that, the balance of the sport at this stage is so much more beneficial,” Karunaratne said.
Here are the latest team rankings:
| ICC Test Rankings | ||||
| Ranking | Team | Matches | Points | Rating |
| 1 | Australia | 26 | 3,028 | 116 |
| 2 | New Zealand | 21 | 2,406 | 115 |
| 3 | India | 27 | 3,085 | 114 |
| 4 | England | 33 | 3,466 | 105 |
| 5 | Sri Lanka | 27 | 2,454 | 91 |
| 6 | South Africa | 23 | 2,076 | 90 |
| 7 | Pakistan | 16 | 1,372 | 86 |
| 8 | West Indies | 18 | 1,422 | 79 |
| 9 | Afghanistan | 3 | 170 | 57 |
| 10 | Bangladesh | 17 | 939 | 55 |
| 11 | Zimbabwe | 8 | 144 | 18 |
| 12 | Ireland | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ODI rankings | ||||
| Ranking | Team | Match | Points | Rating points |
| 1 | England | 38 | 4,820 | 127 |
| 2 | India | 49 | 5,819 | 119 |
| 3 | New Zealand | 32 | 3,716 | 116 |
| 4 | South Africa | 31 | 3,345 | 108 |
| 5 | Australia | 33 | 3,518 | 107 |
| 6 | Pakistan | 32 | 3,254 | 102 |
| 7 | Bangladesh | 34 | 2,989 | 88 |
| 8 | Sri Lanka | 39 | 3,297 | 85 |
| 9 | West Indies | 43 | 3,285 | 76 |
| 10 | Afghanistan | 28 | 1,549 | 55 |
| 11 | Ireland | 21 | 1,039 | 49 |
| 12 | Netherlands | 5 | 222 | 44 |
| 13 | Oman | 12 | 479 | 40 |
| 14 | Zimbabwe | 24 | 935 | 39 |
| 15 | Scotland | 16 | 419 | 26 |
| 16 | Nepal | 9 | 161 | 18 |
| 17 | UAE | 15 | 259 | 17 |
| 18 | Namibia | 9 | 152 | 17 |
| 19 | United States | 14 | 185 | 13 |
| 20 | Papua New Guinea | 14 | 0 | 0 |
