Kumara Sangakkara - "Mr. Elegent"

Kumara Sangakkara – Captain, Wicket Keeper, Batsman, lecturer, Gentlemen & a Team man or we can say a best man. “Many Into One” A Tough talking & a sharp thinking man from Sri Lanka, whose aggression is calculated & intelligent. Cover Drive, lofted shots or straight drive take whatever you want this cricketer has the charm of Cricket which can bring an audience to any ground. Not just on the talk but statistically also he is one of the great cricketer in today's cricket, more then 10,000 runs in both of Cricket. 31 Test Centuries with an average of over 56 is enough to convey the Greatness of this man. Before he made a debut for Sri lanka at age of 22 he was known as Wicket Keeper who can bat but, since his first international match he showed that he is gem of a glance, a cricketer who gives calmness to soul for cricket fans.A Natural puller, he pulls balls with ease & the way he cut does describe the beauty of batting in Cricket. Kumara Sangakkara is known as one of the "most polished and prudent of batsmen" in cricket with ability to score all over the ground. He has learn most of the cricket book shots through out the yaer & now he has excel himself in a category of a most mature cricketer ever produce in ASIA. yet somehow he has not lived up to the mark in One day international Cricket, often throwing his wicket after a very promising start. Only in his second International match he played match wining knock of 85 runs against South Africa. hard work, determination and an impeccable work ethic made him ICC World’s number one ranked Test batsman in June 2008. be it batting for 60 Overs to save test match on 5^th day & scoring 63 runs he was always there for his team when needed. He is the youngest & the only current player, who has given lecture 2011 MCC Spirit of Cricket Cowdrey Lecture. He is intelligent off the field as he is on it. That speech connects every cricketers or lovers soul. With the, speech Sangakkara had become a rare example of a sportsman who provided revelations on and off the field. Here is the best part of that lecture,

"Our cricket embodied everything in our lives, our laughter and tears, our hospitality, our generosity, our music, our food and drink. It was normality and hope and inspiration in a war-ravaged island. In it was our culture and heritage, enriched by our myriad ethnicities and religions. In it we were untouched, at least for a while, by petty politics and division. It is indeed a pity that life is not cricket. If it were, we would not have seen the festering wounds of an ignorant war." -- Kumar Sangakkara, 2011 MCC Spirit of Cricket Cowdrey lecture 

Kumar Sangakkara is an all-rounder in complete sense. Not only is he Sri Lanka's stylish batsman ever produced also one of the finest wicket-keeper produced by country and some may call him the best captain for his country too. Talking about batting again, he is has 8 Double hundred on his name & one of the most unlucky cricketer to come close to double hundred twice & couldn't reach it because of other’s fault. Last year he was stranded on 199* against Pakistan due to his team’s got all out & few years before a classy inning of 192 in Australia where he was given out falsely which still terms as the most classy knock by any sri lankan out side his nation. He is close to 36 now & I am sure he will have more double hundred before he retired. He is the most successful Sri lankan player in overseas to. Despite all crisis & issue's with board he has always given his 100% along with his team during his captaincy time leading from front. he is among nine players who has scored century against all test playing nations but sometime you may feel he is under achiever looking at his Hard work & dedication which is transparent in his strokes, wonder if he was a part of strong batting line up like Australia of 90’s or India of mid 00s, things would have been little different may be. Be it 156 runs against New zeland in New Zealand or 287 Against South Africa in Home Condition he has performed every where to say least.He was consistent through out his career, critics hardly got any chance to point fingers on him. in June 2011 when he was a bit rusty pre & post world Cup he made a strong come back against England in England by scoring a century. But still in a Country like Sri Lanka who is still struggling to prove his metal in world he has been fantastic role model not only for Young Lankan fans but also for other nation’s youngster, I feel he was born with Waugh’s team attitude. If any team in this world really plays for there country it would be Sri lanka only and it was visible in his MCC lectures too about what it means to play for Sri Lanka & why they want to play for Lanka despite of lots of issues which doesn’t seems to be minors.

As a Cricket fan I have enjoyed his batting a lot & for me he is the most prolific player ever produced by Sri Lanka, I wish him best of luck. A last line with which I would like to end this would be “As a batsman, Sanga Excelclass.”

Let's Live the Moments again,