Kumar Sangakkara

Profile

‘Sanga’ as he is known to his teammates is one of cricket’s most endearing personalities both on and off the field and Sri Lankan Cricket would be pleased to have nurtured him into one of the best cricketers of the nation.

Kumar Sangakkara got underway as a pure batsman but subsequently started keeping wickets as well. He made his domestic debut for Nondescripts at the age of 20 and was a consistent performer in the domestic circuit. Despite being a youngster, Sangakkara was gifted with exemplary temperament and was highly rated for his lucid style of batting. Within two years of his domestic debut, he made his ODI debut for Sri Lanka in 2000 against Pakistan in a triangular tournament which involved South Africa. He carried on from his debut to have a brilliant series averaging 66.33 and affecting 7 dismissals. His performances were rewarded with a Test call-up against South Africa, a series in which he performed admirably behind the stumps. With a string of impressive performances in Tests and ODI’s, Sangakkara gradually displaced one of Sri Lanka’s greatest wicket- keepers Romesh Kaluwitharana and cemented himself in Sri Lanka’s squad.

As a batsman, Sangakkara is a connoisseur’s delight. He is a good player of both fast and spin bowling and is known to revel in difficult situations. His favourite shot is square of the wicket on the off side and he is also a very good puller of the ball. Sanga has amazing levels of concentration and is known to score big once he reaches a hundred. With the experience of playing under several captains during his career, Sangakkara has displayed great maturity while leading his side and is known to back youngsters to the hilt. His multilingual abilities also make him a hit in the diverse Sri Lankan dressing room. He has given up his gloves in the Test arena to concentrate on batting and and the move has paid off as he averages astonishingly above 70 as a non wicket-keeper. Sanga gave up his captaincy from all formats of the game after Sri Lanka’s loss in the 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup final against eventual winners, India.

Fast Facts

• Kumar Sangakkara holds the Sri Lankan record of most number of dismissals affected by a wicket-keeper in Tests, ODI’s and T20’s.
• He is 3rd on the all-time list of number of dismissals affected by a keeper in ODI’s.
• Sangakkara is currently Sri Lanka’s 2nd highest run getter in Tests and 5th in ODI’s.
• He has scored a century against every Test playing nation.
• Sanga became the sixth man in history to score back to back double centuries, a feat which he achieved against Bangladesh in 2007.
• He was named as ‘Test Batsman of the Year’ in Sri Lanka’s inaugural cricket awards.
• Sangakkara’s 222 in a single day is the Sri Lankan Test record of most runs in a day.

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Career

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