Kumar Sangakkara – The man who defined Sri Lanka’s modern-day cricket
A graceful batsman, outstanding keeper, sharp cricketer, and an ever-smiling team player, Kumar Sangakkara was indeed the definition of Sri Lanka cricket for close to a decade and a half. He arrived with a bang inside the national team of Sri Lanka after a dashing 156-run knock at A-level cricket against Zimbabwe. On 24th August 2015, Sangakkara, who had become a Sri Lankan legend by this time, called time on his international career against India.
The beginning
Sangakkara’s potential with the bat was more than appealing and selectors were quick to identify and give the 22-year-old a chance in the Singer tri-series involving Pakistan and South Africa ages ago in 2000. A man of the match performance in his very second match against South Africa as he slammed 85 runs off 116 impressed many.
The left-hander entered into the Sri Lankan Test side in the same month and started with subtle performances. Sangakkara missed out on a couple of centuries as he got 98 and 95 against South Africa and England respectively but after coming to India, he got the first of his 38 tons in what was his 10th Test. Sanga soon translated himself into a player of immense reputation and he blossomed extremely well under the leadership of a man with no lesser importance in Lankan cricket: Mahela Jayawardene.
Growing into a legend
The unparalleled duo has dominated innumerable oppositions, scripted the most incredible partnerships, and won hundreds of matches together for the team. Sanga’s age coincided with the glorious days of Sri Lankan cricket and the team used to be a bunch of some legendary players including Marvan Atapattu, Sanath Jayasuriya, Arjuna Ranatunga, Chaminda Vaas, Lasith Malinga, Rangana Herath, and Muttiah Muralitharan.
His Test average of over 57 even after 134 Tests speaks volumes about his mettle. Although his incredible exploits were not limited to whites. Sangakkara is one of the few men in the history of cricket to have amassed over 10,000 runs in both the formats of the game. His record of 11 double tons is second to only Sir Donald Bradman while he’s placed sixth in the list of most runs in Test, though notably, the difference of runs between him (12400) and second-placed Ricky Ponting (13,378) is not much.
Though Sachin Tendulkar surpasses him by some margin in career ODI runs (18,426) and overall international tally (34,357) he still stands second in both the lists with 14,234 and 28,016 runs respectively. Also, only Tendulkar (100), Ponting (71), and Kohli (70) have more international tons than his 63.
He was an impeccable wicket-keeper who has his name amongst the best to have ever played the game and tops the list of most dismissals in ODIs whereas he is 4th in the list of most dismissals (678) in a career as a keeper. He played a pivotal role and helped Sri Lanka achieve balance after the resignation of Jayawardene as a captain.
Despite scoring truckloads of runs, performing the tiring job of a wicket-keeper in all the formats, dragging his nation out of many troublesome situations, and single-handedly winning matches, Sanga displayed incredible longevity and fitness to stay around for 15 years in international cricket. He scripted many records but most importantly he dedicated every bit to his nation and became the definition of cricket. His chapter is a golden one for Sri Lankan cricket.
