Chamika Karunaratne

International career

Chamika Karunaratne was born on 29 May 1996. He plays for the Sri Lanka national cricket team in Tests, One Day Internationals, and T20 matches. He has also competed in badminton at the national level. His international cricket debut came in February 2019. In November 2022, he received a suspended one-year ban from all forms of cricket after breaking several parts of his player contract during the period following the 2022 T20 World Cup.

He studied at Royal College in Colombo, where he led the school’s cricket, badminton, and athletics teams. His strong results in different sports earned him the Royal Crown twice, which is a major school award.

Before focusing fully on cricket, Karunaratne became junior national champion in the javelin throw and also played badminton internationally. His father Louie Karunaratne and his brothers Dinuka, Niluka, and Diluka have all played badminton at a high level. In February 2021, Chamika and his older brother Niluka took part in the first round of the men’s singles at the Sri Lankan Badminton Nationals.

• 2018: In December, Chamika Karunaratne was named in Sri Lanka's squad for the 2018 ACC Emerging Teams Asia Cup.
• 2019: In January, he joined Sri Lanka's Test squad for the second match against Australia. He played his only Test match from February 1 to 4 against Australia in Canberra. He took 1 wicket for 130 runs.
• 2021: In May, Karunaratne was included in the One Day International (ODI) squad for the series against Bangladesh. He made his ODI debut on May 28 against Bangladesh in Mirpur. In July, he was added to the T20 squad for the home series against India. He played his first T20I match on July 25 at Colombo (RPS). In September, he was selected for the 2021 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup.
• 2022: In July, during the second ODI against Australia, Karunaratne earned the Player of the Match title for his all-round contribution. In the fifth ODI of the same series, he scored his first half-century in ODI cricket. He was picked for the 2022 Asia Cup and later included in the squad for the 2022 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup.
• 2023: In March, during the first ODI against New Zealand at Eden Park, Auckland, he took 4 wickets. In October, he joined Sri Lanka's squad in the Cricket World Cup after team captain Dasun Shanaka was ruled out with an injury during the match against Pakistan on October 10. The World Cup Technical Committee approved Karunaratne as a replacement. His last ODI so far was played on November 9, 2023, against New Zealand in Bengaluru.  His last T20I appearance was on April 2, 2023, against New Zealand in Auckland.
• 2024: In March, Karunaratne participated in a Test series against Bangladesh. Sri Lanka won by 192 runs (531 all out vs 157 for 7). Later that month, he played in a three-match ODI series against Bangladesh. Sri Lanka won by a 3-run margin in the deciding match (287 for 7 vs 257 for 4).

Career Stats (as of 2024)

• Test Matches: 1 match, 1 wicket, average 148.00, best 1 for 130
• ODI Matches: 26 matches, 24 wickets, average 31.88, best 4 for 43
• T20I Matches: 42 matches, 24 wickets, average 39.71, best 2 for 22

Leagues Participation

Chamika Karunaratne has taken part in several domestic T20 leagues. In the Lanka Premier League, he played for Dambulla Giants in 2021, later joined Kandy Falcons in 2022, and was part of Colombo Strikers during the 2023/2024 season. He also featured in the 2022/2023 edition of the T20 League tournament with Dubai Capitals. Karunaratne has been involved in the Indian Premier League as well.

Lanka Premier League

Chamika Karunaratne has played in multiple editions of the Lanka Premier League, representing different franchises over the years. His involvement included strong performances and notable events, including injuries and controversial moments. Below is a breakdown of his participation by year:

Year	Team	Notes
2021	Dambulla Giants	Selected in the LPL 2021 draft. Scored 75 (47) in the semi-final, but the team lost to Jaffna Kings by 23 runs and missed the final.
2022	Kandy Falcons	Signed in July. Injured during a match on December 7 while attempting a catch; lost four teeth and required surgery but returned later.
2023/2024	Colombo Strikers	Played against former team Kandy Falcons. In one match, caught the ball in the eighth over, but the third umpire ruled it not out.

T20 League Tournament

Chamika Karunaratne took part in the 2022/2023 season of the International League T20, where he represented the Dubai Capitals. His performance included brief batting and bowling spells across a few matches. The table below shows key details from this tournament:

Season	Team	Notes
2022/2023	Dubai Capitals	Played in January 2023. Scored 4 runs vs Gulf Giants on Jan 19. Took 1 wicket for 39 runs vs Sharjah Warriors on Jan 21.

Indian Premier League

Chamika Karunaratne was picked by the Kolkata Knight Riders during the 2022 IPL auction for a fee of 50 lakhs. However, he did not appear in any matches throughout the season. Before the 2023 auction, the franchise released him from the squad.

Year	Team	Notes
2022	Kolkata Knight Riders	Bought for 50 lakhs but did not play in any matches.
2023	—	Released by KKR ahead of the 2023 IPL auction.

Domestic career

Chamika Karunaratne began playing cricket at Royal College in 2008, starting in the under-13C team before quickly moving to the A team after strong performances. He made his first-class debut in December 2015 for Tamil Union in the Premier League Tournament. Since then, he has been involved in various domestic tournaments, playing first-class, List A, and T20 matches for different teams across Sri Lanka. Over the years, he has represented squads such as Kandy, Colombo, and Dambulla in key competitions like the Super Provincial and Invitational T20 leagues.

Records and achievements

Chamika Karunaratne has played in all formats of international cricket and contributed as both a bowler and a batsman. His statistics and participation in important tournaments show his role in the team.

He played one Test match in 2019, taking one wicket with a bowling average of 148.00 and best bowling figures of 1 for 130. From 2021 to 2024, he appeared in 26 One Day International matches, where he took 24 wickets. His bowling average in ODIs is 31.88, and his best performance was 4 wickets for 43 runs. In Twenty20 matches, from 2021 to 2023, he played 42 games and took 24 wickets. His bowling average in T20 is 39.71, with best figures of 2 for 22.

In 2022, Karunaratne took part in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup. He scored 250 runs and took 10 wickets in a series of One-Day International matches. His bowling economy rate stands at 39.70, which is the second highest in his career.

Personal life

Chamika Karunaratne is a well-known cricketer with an active public life. He has had success in sports and faced some controversies as well.

Family

Chamika's father is Niluka Karunaratne and his mother is Veena Karunaratne. He has a sibling named Dinuka Karunaratne. Information about his wife or children is not publicly available.

Finance

In October 2022, Chamika became the brand ambassador for Prima Stella Dairy, a nutrition brand. His fortune in 2025 is estimated to be around two million dollars.

Scandals

During the 2022 Asia Cup, Chamika attracted attention by mocking the Bangladeshi team with a dance, which many found inappropriate. Later that year, he was fined five thousand US dollars and suspended for one year by Sri Lanka Cricket for causing a fire risk in a hotel during the T20 World Cup. He also had a reported conflict in a casino in Brisbane.

A leaked report from the national chief selector accused Chamika of missing training to meet women and lying about his reasons for absence during the 2022 T20 World Cup. Allegations included inappropriate behavior towards a married woman in Australia. This led to calls for psychological counselling before returning to the team.

He was removed from the national squad due to poor form, causing disappointment in the sports ministry. The head coach reportedly lost trust in him. Some reports mention conflicts related to a religious group influencing team selection.

Fans

Chamika has about 231,000 followers on Instagram.