Kumar Sangakkara - The tale of an understated hero

Kumar Sangakkara – The tale of an understated hero: The Sri Lankan legend Kumar Sangakkara is all set to hang up his boots after the 2^nd Test match against India. Sanga has been the face of sheer class and elegance over the years, which has exemplified him as one of the greatest batters to have played the sport. But, despite his gigantic achievements in International cricket he is not regarded in the league of Sachin Tendulkar, Brian Lara and Ricky Ponting. It’s a very baffling thing because his glorious stats and immense contributions in the game are second to none.

Sangakkara is the unsung hero of the game. He is one of Sri Lanka’s favorite sons but yet Arvinda de Silva, Mahela Jayawardene and Sanath Jayasuriya have edged him out in the country. May be because they were the faces of dynamism in persona which got reflected in the way they played the game. But that doesn’t take anything away from the Kumar, he might not be the most beautiful sight on the 22 yards but his greatness lies in his unmatched effectiveness.

From rescuing his team from the jaws of defeats to being the pillar between his side and the opponent team, this man graced the game in every way possible. Sanga’s name never popped up in controversies and he is very humble in nature. Has been a true ambassador of the game and served as the player’s representative for several years at the ICC. Very few players in the cricket world have followed the path of honesty as much as Sangakkara who had the habit of walking even before umpire’s finger went up when he was out.

Sangakkara has amassed 12,305 runs in 132 Tests at a staggering average of 58.04 with 38 centuries to his credit. If we compare him to other greats of the game like Sachin, Ponting, Lara, Dravid and Kallis who have also featured in excess of 100 Tests, his average is the best among them with Kallis, Sachin, Lara, Dravid and Ponting succeeding Sanga. He has accumulated 11 double centuries in Test cricket which is second only to Sir Don Bradman’s tally of 12 double tons. It reflects that he is the greatest batsmen if we talk about converting 100’s into 200’s. In home Tests, he averages 61 while in overseas conditions it’s 54.08. Sachin is just marginally better than Sanga with average of 54.75 in foreign soil while Lara and Ponting average below 50 in overseas conditions.

Sangakkara also has one triple century. While most of the batsmen including Sachin, Ponting and Dravid suffered slump in form before retirement, Sangakkara has been a chart buster run-scorer in both Tests and ODIs. In the last two years, Sanga has accumulated 1,748 Test runs at an average of almost 62 which also includes a double-ton against Kiwis in their den, recently. He was also burdened with glove work for several years and has 151 dismissals in Tests.

He has also featured in 404 ODIs and has accumulated 14,234 runs at an average of almost 42. He is the only player in the ODI history to score 4 consecutive ODI centuries, a feat which he achieved in World Cup 2015, his last ODI tournament. His average in abroad ODIs of 42.65 is better than his home average of 40.72, Sachin (43.05) and Ponting (43.76) are marginally ahead of him in overseas ODIs. Since 2011, he has scored in excess of 1,000 ODI runs in every calendar year while this year in 14 matches he has scored 862 runs at average of 86. He also has 501 dismissals as a glove-man which transforms his contributions to even greater heights. The job of a wicket-keeper is a specialized work in cricket and the likes of Sachin, Ponting and Lara were never burdened with such an arduous task.

In T20I cricket as well, he was the man of the match in World Cup T20 2014 final and rallied his side to maiden World T20 win. After Sangakkara cricket would never be the same place again not only for Sri Lanka but also throughout the world as this gentleman made cricket wealthier with his high morals and great achievements on the ground. His exit from the game will be like an end of an era. At a time when others start losing their impeccable touch with age which forces their retirement. This man defied all the odds and is now going at a time when the world wants to see more of him.

He won the hearts of millions for such reasons and his exit will leave big void to fill. But, he will always be there in our hearts as the man who glorified the sport in every way possible and is leaving the game on a high on his terms than anything else. A big salute to Kumar Sangakkara. We will always remember you as the one of the greatest cricketing icons who graced the game in every sense possible.