Kumar Sangakkara: Legendary player for the Sri Lankan cricket team
A destined stardom with legendary abilities in Sri Lankan cricket, Kumar Sangakkara, a top-order left hand batsman and wicket-keeper, proves to be a great team leader with tremendous amount
of talent and skill. His batting temperament with classic drives and his sharp wicket-keeping with full length dive have earned him the respect of captaincy in his team-mates and opponents alike. Sangakkara has the uncanny ability to stay on the crease with
his sensible batting style and then on the field in wicket-keeping, with full-length dive catches in the leg side. His contribution to the Sri Lankan cricket is without a doubt, a direct reflection on the type of a competitive player and captain.
Kumar Chokshanada Sangakkara or just Sangakkara in short was born on 27th October, 1977 in Matale, Sri Lanka. He is married to his long-time partner, Yehali and has two twins,
a boy and a girl. He is an under-graduate in law and his father is also a leading lawyer in Kandy. He is multilingual and able to speak in Sinhalese, Tamil and English and is often seen as the unofficial spokesman of the cricket team. He is currently serving
his team as captain of the Sri Lanka National Cricket team in the ICC World Cup 2011 matches.
Sangakkara made his Test debut against South Africa in the home series at Galle in 2000 by contributing 23 runs for his country’s success. He has played 94 Tests by scoring 8244 runs setting
his average on 57.25. His Test career includes 24 splendid centuries and 34 half-centuries including 287 runs as highest.
Sangakkara made his One Day International debut against Pakistan in home series at Galle in 2000. In his first ODI he contributed 35 runs not out in Sri Lankan’s win. He has played 283
ODIs by scoring 8791 runs in total including 138 runs as highest. His average of 37.09 includes 10 splendid hundreds and 60 fifties in ODIs.
Sangakkara broke into the side at the age of 22 when he was a student of law. It was probably perception that he would rule in cricket batting like Arjuna Ranatunga and Asanka Gurusinha.
In his Trinity College, he received coveted as Trinity Lion for Cricket. He was hooked up into cricket by the inspirations of school’s Principal, Mr. Leonard De Alwis to his mother to encourage her son to pursue in cricket. Initially, his glove-work was not
purist but his batting performance was grew with confidence, and there was no question of displacing him from the XI.
As a batsman, he has matured steadily. The 2006 performance is the best example to illustrate Sangakkara at Sinhalese Sports Club Ground in Colombo, when he added 287 runs with his captain
Mahela Jayawardene totalling 624 runs against the furious attack of the Protaes, Dale Steyn and Makhaya Ntini. Earlier in first-class cricket, he was in great touch.
In 2007, he was named as the number 1 batsman in the LG ICC Test Player ranking with a rating of 938 for managing a record as the first batsman ever to manage in excess of 150 runs in
four consecutive tests. After performing well he was shuffled around in the ODI cricket and Twenty20 International cricket. In 2009, he was appointed as captain of T20 and then in ODIs.
Sangakkara started his first-class career in 1997-98. Overall, he has played 179 matches scoring 12,628 setting his average on 48.01. He has 32 glorious hundreds and 58 half-centuries
in this format of game.
In T20 International matches, he has 777 runs in 29 matches with an average of 31.08. In List-A cricket, he has 12,552 runs including 156 runs as highest setting his average at 39.34.
However, in domestic T20s, he has 2,182 runs in 80 matches.
He has been awarded as man of the match 9 times in Test cricket matches and 14 times in ODIs. He has been grooming well in the one day often throwing his wicket away when well set, but
his leadership qualities required attention in his captaincy after signing in the Indian Premier League. If he keeps scoring with his current rate, he can break any Sri Lankan record.
After performing well in the World Cup warm-up matches and in the first match against Canada, he is determined again to win his second match against Pakistan at Colombo on 26th
February 2011.