Sri Lanka’s Kumar Sangakkara will be playing the final Test of his career when India and Sri Lanka meet at the P. Sara Oval in Colombo for the second Test. Even before the start of the Test series when Sangakkara had announced his retirement, tributes and good wishes had started pouring to hail the Lankan legend. When India’s Test captain Virat Kohli was asked about Sangakkara’s retirement, Kohli said he would remember Sangakkara for the lovely human being that he is and the honour of playing alongside him over the years.
“I am sure if a guy who is retiring from the game, I cannot connect to it but I can imagine the kind of emotions he might feel because this is something that he has probably done for the last 20 years day in and day out of everyday life. And, not to do that anymore would be a big shock for anyone.
“He has been a wonderful player for Sri Lanka. A lot of left-handers really look up to him for the way he plays. His technique and the way he has scored runs all over the world, his numbers speak for themselves. He is a wonderful human being. He is a lovely person. I have had quite a few chats with him on the field & away from the field as well. I am actually glad that he is going to be playing his last few games against us because it is a special occasion for us to be a part of. Such a legend of the game retiring, as a young side it will be an honour for us to give him that respect in his last few Tests. Hopefully he doesn’t score too many runs against us but I really wish him all the luck with his life after cricket. It has been wonderful to know such a great player and a great man,” Virat said.
India team director Ravi Shastri flipped back the years and hailed Sangakkara as one of the statesmen of the modern game. “I saw him from his first game,” Shastri said. “I was commentating on that game when he played and he is still around. He broke into being one of the top two or three players and he never got out of that. There might have been a one year or a six-month period where his form might have dipped. But otherwise, for sheer consistency, he is unmatched,” he said.
“There are very few players who fall in that list. You can bring Sachin Tendulkar in that league as the kind of player that once broke into the top two or three never moved out of there. Sangakkara’s record shows you that. He has got runs world over and scored double hundreds like it is a pass time. He is equal with Sir Donald Bradman. We love Sanga for the way he has entertained and he has been a fantastic ambassador for the game of cricket. That is a legacy that he will leave behind. I think every Sri Lankan should be proud of what he has achieved not just personally but the way he has conducted himself in going round the world as an international cricketer. You can call him as one of the statesmen of the modern game,” Shastri added.
Elaborating further on what made Sangakkara so special, Shastri said, “His ability to adapt and concentrate and his ability to bat for long periods of time. He had a wide range of shots, understood his game well and obviously worked as hard as any you would get. Also, his simple ability to assess the conditions very quickly, be it England, Australia, South Africa, West Indies or Colombo made him very special.”
Ravi Shastri was also of the view that two stalwarts of Sri Lanka cricket - Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene deserved a lot more accolades than they got. “I don’t think both Sanga and Mahela have got the accolades they should have got. If both of them were playing for India, they would have been on top of a tree or put up on top of a tree.
“Having said that, no one took an eye off them, especially Sangakkara, because he was backed in the top three. He would either open or bat at No.3 which is one of the toughest positions to bat. He would just pile on the runs. He had the ability to switch gears. When the conditions were bowler friendly, he would dig deep with his technique. The moment the conditions got batsmen friendly, he would turn it on. Hence he had those abilities to get those double hundreds. The moment he was batting with the tail, he might have been batting on 120 by then with three wickets in hand. Suddenly you had him batting on 200 because he knew who to target. He was a master of managing his own game and a truly great player,” Team India director showered praise on the Sri Lankan.
India’s current No. 3, Rohit Sharma too joined in wishing Sangakkara the best post his retirement. “He has been a stalwart of the game and played this game in true spirit. I was fortunate enough to watch him play closely many a times in my career. I would just like to wish him all the very best,” Sharma said.
