Sri Lanka skipper Karunaratne aims to reach top-four in ODI, Test cricket

Sri Lanka skipper Dimuth Karunaratne has said that he wants the side to reach the top four in both Test and One Day International rankings.

"Rankings is the keyword. I would say Sri Lanka needs to be in the top four of not just ODI Cricket, but Test Cricket as well. That would indirectly mean semifinalists to say the least and you are perhaps two games away from the plum. There onwards, it's any bodies guess and if you do well on your day you could end up being world champs," official website of Sri Lanka Cricket quoted Karunaratne.

Sri Lanka is currently at the eighth spot in the ODI rankings, but the side whitewashed West Indies in the three-match ODI series earlier this year.

Karunaratne has played 66 Tests and 31 ODIs for Sri Lanka so far. He has managed to score 5,207 runs across all formats.

While the side is at the fifth spot in the Test rankings and the side had suffered a loss in the two-match Test series against Pakistan.

The left-handed Karunratne also laid down the impact of head coach Mickey Arthur, who was appointed the coach of Sri Lanka in December last year.

"Mickey is a no-nonsense cool bloke with loads of experience to back him and his brand. At the international level planning and role clarity is a norm," Karunaratne said.
 

"What is very important is the belief he has instilled among us in his own and subtle way. It surely helped and the result always speaks for itself," he added.

Karunaratne revived his limited-overs career last year as he was brought into the Sri Lankan side ahead of the 2019 Cricket World Cup. He was chosen as the skipper of the side, but he failed to guide Sri Lanka to the semi-finals of the tournament.

"The boys and the respective squads are enjoying their cricket and that makes my job that much easier. If you like what you are doing and the environment to do so is conducive, the balance at this level of sport becomes that much more beneficial," Karunaratne said.

Here's 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