Kumar Sangakkara

Full Name           : Kumar Chokshanada Sangakkara 

Date of Birth       : 27th October 1977

Place of Birth      : Matale, Sri Lanka 

Nick Name           : Sanga 

Batting Style       : Left-Handed 

Bowling Style       : Right Arm Off Break 

Role                : Wicket-Keeper, Batsman 

Test Debut (cap 84) : 20th July 2000 v South Africa 

ODI Debut (cap 93)  : 5th July 2000 v Pakistan 

Kumar Sangakkara is a Sri Lankan cricketer and the former captain of the Sri Lanka national cricket team.  Kumar Sangakkara  is a left-handed top-order batsman.  Kumar Sangakkara  used to play as a wicket-keeper and top-order batsman in all forms of the game, but has stopped keeping wicket in Tests as his batting average is significantly higher in Tests when he plays as a pure batsman.  Kumar Sangakkara  has been ranked as the number 1 Test batsman in the world several times during his career.Following the world cup defeat to India he has since stepped down from the captaincy. Sangakkara (8) is third in the list of Test double century-makers, behind Donald Bradman (12) and Brian Lara (9).  Kumar Sangakkara  scored his eighth double ton in Test cricket on October 21, 2011 against Pakistan at Abu Dhabi.

Early Life

Kumar Chokshanada Sangakkara was born to Kumari Chokshandara Mudalige and Chokshanada Sangakkara at Matale in 1977. Sangakkara received his primary and secondary education at Trinity College, Kandy, a private elite boys' school in Sri Lanka, which holds the distinction of being the only school in the world to own an international cricket stadium in Asgiriya Stadium in Kandy. At Trinity he was awarded the coveted Trinity Lion for Cricket and was the Ryde Medalist of his year. Kumar Sangakkara  was the Senior Prefect (Head Boy) of his school in 1996. Sangakkara showed talents in both cricket and tennis at school, and it was the school's Principal, Mr. Leonard De Alvis who advised his mother to encourage him to pursue cricket.

International Career

Sangakkara began his career as a batsman but subsequently became a wicket-keeper.  Kumar Sangakkara  batting has developed to such an extent that he once topped the LG ICC Test batting rankings. However, in 2006 he gave the gloves to Prasanna Jayawardene in Tests and has since played as a specialist batsman.  Kumar Sangakkara  remains Sri Lanka's wicket-keeper in One Day International and Twenty20 cricket. As of September 2009, he was ranked 1st on the Test batting rankings. Sangakkara peaked at 6th on the ICC all-time Test batting rankings.

Sangakkara likes to hit the ball square of the wicket on the off-side and upon making a century consistently continues on past 150. On the 6 December 2007 he was named as the new Number 1 batsman in the LG ICC Test player rankings with a rating of 938, the highest rating ever achieved by a Sri Lankan player, and became the first batsman ever to score in excess of 150 in four consecutive tests. Kumar Sangakkara  skill was recognised worldwide when he earned selection for the ICC World XI One Day International team that competed against Australia in the Johnnie Walker Series in October 2005.  Kumar Sangakkara  holds the record for fastest 8000 runs (152 innings) in Test cricket.  Kumar Sangakkara  broke the previous record set by Sachin Tendulkar (154 innings) during the third test against India on 6 August 2010. Despite the World XI losing all of the one-day games by considerable margins, Sangakkara left the series with some credit, averaging 46. Kumar Sangakkara  also holds the record for fastest 9000 runs (172 innings) in Test cricket.  Kumar Sangakkara  broke the previous record set by Rahul Dravid (176 innings) during the second test against Pakistan on 3 November 2011.

Sangakkara was billed as a future captain of Sri Lanka. On Sri Lanka's tour to England in May 2006, he was named the vice-captain of the side. In March 2009 he was appointed to captain the Sri Lankan team for the 2009 ICC World Twenty20. Sangakkara has won a certain degree of admiration for his clever use of sledging and is one of few cricketers who are willing to talk about it openly.

In Sangakkara's first World Cup as captain, Sri Lanka reached the finals of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 tournament.Throughout the tournament Sangakkara was in prolific form with the bat and was the third highest run scorer behind Tillakaratne Dilshan and India's Sachin Tendulkar. In nine One Day international matches, he scored 465 with 44 boundaries and five Sixes.  Kumar Sangakkara  retired as captain of Sri Lanka in one day formats on 3 April 2011.  Kumar Sangakkara  is a real gentlemen in the present cricket who is honored by the whole cricket world.

Days after guiding SL to the finals of the World Cup, Sangakkara stepped down as captain of the T20 and ODI teams so that a new captain can take over, keeping the 2015 World Cup in mind. Sangakkara will remain Test Captain if deemed necessary for transition to new skipper. However, he was not retained as captain, with Tillakaratne Dilshan being appointed as skipper.

Domestic Cricket

Sangakkara plays his domestic cricket for Nondescripts in Sri Lanka. Sangakkara has played English county cricket with Warwickshire in the 2007 County Championship. In 2010 Sangakkara was confirmed to represent Lancashire in the 2010 County Championship. Lancashire coach, Peter Moores said "Kumar is hot property at the moment and rightly so.  Kumar Sangakkara  is arguably the most consistent batsman in international cricket with an outstanding average in all formats, making his signing a real coup for Lancashire. Not only will he bring his qualities as a player to the squad but his experience and knowledge will be invaluable."However, Sangakkara never played for Lancashire as he was unavailable due to international commitments.

2009 attack on the Sri Lanka national cricket teamMain article: 2009 attack on the Sri Lanka national cricket team

On 3 March 2009, a terrorist attack on the Sri Lankan team convoy injured several players, including Sangakkara, and also injuring six other people in the convoy.

Personal Life

Kumar Sangakkara is the youngest of four siblings and has a brother and two sisters one of whom is a sportswoman herself – a keen Tennis player. Sangakkara is married to his longtime partner, Yehali  and is currently a law undergraduate at the Sri Lanka Law College, following in the footsteps of his father, who is also a leading lawyer in Kandy.  Kumar Sangakkara  is multilingual, being able to speak Sinhalese Tamil and English and is often seen as the unofficial spokesman of the Sri Lanka cricket team. Sangakkara is ambidextrous (meaning he can bat left- and right-handed).  Kumar Sangakkara  is Buddhist and goes to the temple and does his prayers before he plays cricket

On 30 June 2009 Sangakkara's wife gave birth to twins, a girl and boy.

Player Statistics

Career Performance 

An innings-by-innings breakdown of Sangakkara's Test match batting career, showing runs scored (red bars) and the average of the last ten innings (blue line).

Performance against each opponentAs of 4 November 2011:

Opponent Matches Innings Not out Runs High Score 100 50 Average 

 Australia 6 12 0 503 192 1 3 41.91 

 Bangladesh 11 14 2 876 222* 2 5 73.00 

 England 15 26 1 1007 152 2 6 40.28 

 India 15 24 2 1257 219 5 2 57.13 

 New Zealand 8 14 3 651 156* 3 2 59.18 

 Pakistan 10 19 2 1314 230 7 5 77.29 

 South Africa 12 22 0 1182 287 2 5 53.72 

 West Indies 12 19 2 918 157* 3 5 54.00 

 Zimbabwe 5 6 0 536 270 2 1 89.33 

TOTAL 94 156 12 8244 287 27 34 57.25 

Test Centuries

The following table illustrates a summary of the Test centuries scored by Kumar Sangakkara.

In the column Runs, * indicates being not out 

The column title Match refers to the Match Number of the player's career 

Test Centuries of Kumar Sangakkara 

 Runs Match Against City/Country Venue Year 

[1] 105* 10  India Galle, Sri Lanka Galle International Stadium 2001 

[2] 140 14  West Indies Galle, Sri Lanka Galle International Stadium 2001 

[3] 128 17  Zimbabwe Colombo, Sri Lanka Sinhalese Sports Club Ground 2002 

[4] 230 20  Pakistan Lahore, Pakistan Gaddafi Stadium 2002 

[5] 270 38  Zimbabwe Bulawayo, Zimbabwe Queens Sports Club 2004 

[6] 232 42  South Africa Colombo, Sri Lanka Sinhalese Sports Club Ground 2004 

[7] 138 44  Pakistan Karachi, Pakistan National Stadium 2004 

[8] 157 48  West Indies Kandy, Sri Lanka Asgiriya Stadium 2005 

[9] 185 56  Pakistan Colombo, Sri Lanka Sinhalese Sports Club Ground 2006 

[10] 287 61  South Africa Colombo, Sri Lanka Sinhalese Sports Club Ground 2006 

[11] 100* 63  New Zealand Christchurch, New Zealand Jade Stadium 2006 

[12] 156* 64  New Zealand Wellington, New Zealand Basin Reserve 2006 

[13] 200* 66  Bangladesh Colombo, Sri Lanka P. Saravanamuttu Stadium 2007 

[14] 222* 67  Bangladesh Kandy, Sri Lanka Asgiriya Stadium 2007 

[15] 192 68  Australia Hobart, Australia Bellerive Oval 2007 

[16] 152 69  England Kandy, Sri Lanka Asgiriya Stadium 2007 

[17] 144 76  India Colombo, Sri Lanka P. Sarawanamuttu stadium 2008 

[18] 104 80  Pakistan Lahore, Pakistan Gaddafi stadium 2009 

[19] 130* 83  Pakistan Colombo, Sri Lanka Sinhalese Sports Club Ground 2009 

[20] 109 85  New Zealand Colombo, Sri Lanka Sinhalese Sports Club Ground 2009 

[21] 137 88  India Mumbai, India Brabourne Stadium 2009 

[22] 103 89  India Galle, Sri Lanka Galle International Stadium 2010 

[23] 219 90  India Colombo, Sri Lanka Sinhalese Sports Club 2010 

[24] 150 93  West Indies Colombo, Sri Lanka R. Premadasa Stadium 2010 

[25] 119 97  England Southampton, England Rose Bowl 2011 

[26] 211 101  Pakistan Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates Sheikh Zayed Stadium 2011 

[27] 144 103  Pakistan Sharjah, United Arab Emirates Sharjah Cricket Association Stadium 2011 

[28] 108 105  South Africa Durban, South Africa Kingsmead Cricket Ground 2011 

One Day International Centuries

ODI Centuries of Kumar Sangakkara 

Runs Match Against City/Country Venue Year 

[1] 100* 86  Pakistan Sharjah, UAE Sharjah C.A. Stadium 2003 

[2] 103* 87  Kenya Sharjah, UAE Sharjah C.A. Stadium 2003 

[3] 101 100  Australia Colombo, Sri Lanka R. Premadasa Stadium 2004 

[4] 138* 141  India Jaipur, India Sawai Mansingh Stadium 2005 

[6] 110 183  India Rajkot, India Madhavrao Scindia Cricket Ground 2007 

[7] 128 213  India Adelaide, Australia Adelaide Oval 2008 

[8] 101 221  Bangladesh Lahore, Pakistan Gaddafi Stadium 2008 

[9] 112 222  Pakistan Karachi, Pakistan National Stadium 2008 

[10] 121 223  Bangladesh Karachi, Pakistan National stadium 2008 

[11] 111 288  New Zealand Mumbai, India Wankhede Stadium 2011 

[12] 102 311  South Africa Johannesburg, South Africa New Wanderers Stadium 2012 

Awards

Test Cricket – Man of the Series Awards

1 Pakistan vs Sri Lanka in UAE 2011/12 516 - 3 Matches (6 Innings)  Won the 3-match series 1-0 

Test Cricket – Man of the match Awards 

In this table Ct., refers to the Catches and St. refers to the Stumping 

Series Season Match Performance Result 

1 1st Test – Zimbabwe in Sri Lanka 2001/02 1st Innings – 128(4x22, 6x1)

2nd Innings – 3 Ct.  Won by an innings and 166 runs 

2 Final – Asian Test Championship 2001/02 1st Innings – 230(4x33, 6x3); 5 Ct., 1 St.

2nd Innings – 14*(4x1)  Won by 8 wickets 

3 2nd Test – Sri Lanka in Zimbabwe 2004 1st Innings – 270(4x36, 6x2); 1 Ct.  Won by an innings and 254 runs 

4 2nd Test – South Africa in Sri Lanka 2004 1st Innings – 232(4x31, 6x1); 1 Ct.

2nd Innings – 64(4x10, 6x1)  Won by 313 runs 

5 2nd Test – West Indies in Sri Lanka 2005 1st Innings – 6(4x1)

2nd Innings – 157(4x24)  Won by 240 runs 

6 1st Test – Pakistan in Sri Lanka 2006 1st Innings – 8(4x1); 2 Ct.

2nd Innings – 185(4x22) Match Drawn 

7 2nd Test – Bangladesh in Sri Lanka 2007 1st Innings – 200*(4x20, 6x2)  Won by an innings and 90 runs 

8 1st Test – England in Sri Lanka 2007/08 1st Innings – 92 (4x13)

2nd Innings – 152 (4x19); 1 Ct.  Won by 88 runs 

9 3rd Test – India in Sri Lanka 2008 1st Innings – 144(4x14)

2nd Innings – 04(4x0)  Won by 8 wickets 

10 1st Test – Pakistan vs Sri Lanka in UAE 2011/12 1st Innings – 2 (4x0)

2nd Innings – 211 (4x18) Match Drawn 

11 3rd Test - Pakistan vs Sri Lanka in UAE 2011/12 1st Innings - 144 (4x13)

2nd Innings - 51 (4x2) Match Drawn 

One-Day International Cricket 

Man of the Series Awards

# Series Season Match Performance Result 

1 Cherry Blossom Sharjah Cup in UAE 2002/2003 228(3 Matches); 100x2  Won the Sharja Cup by 8 wickets 

2 South Africa in Sri Lanka 2004 247(5 Matches); 50x3, 5 Ct., 5 St.  Won the series 5–0 

3 2nd Test – Sri Lanka in Zimbabwe 2004 182(3 Matches); 100x1, 50x1, 5 Ct.  Won by an innings and 254 runs 

4 Idea Cup 2009–10 in Bangladesh 2009/2010 274(5 Matches); 50x4  Won the Idea cup by 4 wickets 

One-Day International Cricket 

Man of the Match Awards

# Series Season Match Performance Result 

1 2nd Mt. – Singer Triangular Series vs South Africa 2000 85(4x11); 1 Ct.  Won by 37 runs 

2 7th Mt. – NatWest Series vs England in England 2002 70(4x8)  Won by 23 runs 

3 2nd Mt. – Cherry Blossom Sharjah Cup vs Pakistan in UAE 2002/03 100(4x9)  Won by 7 wickets 

4 4th Mt. – Cherry Blossom Sharjah Cup vs Kenyain UAE 2002/03 103(4x9)  Won by 129 runs 

5 4th ODI – South Africa in Sri Lanka 2004 74(4x6); 1 St.  Won by 7 wickets 

6 Final – Paktel Cup vs Pakistan in Pakistan 2004/05 68(4x7); 1 Ct., 2 St.  Won by 119 runs 

7 2nd Mt. – Afro-Asian Cup vs Africa XI in South Africa 2004/05 61(4x9, 6x1); 1 Ct. Asia XIwon by 17 runs 

8 3rd Mt. – VB Series vs South Africa in Australia 2005/06 88(4x10)  Won by 94 runs 

9 1st Final – VB Series vs Australia in Australia 2005/06 83(4x3, 6x1); 1 St.  Won by 22 runs 

10 3rd ODI – Sri Lanka in Bangladesh 2005/06 109(4x11); 1 Ct.  Won by 78 runs 

11 2nd ODI – Sri Lanka in India 2006/07 110(4x11, 6x4); 2 Ct., 1 St.  Won by 5 runs 

12 8th ODI – Commonwealth Bank Series 2007–08 128 (4x12); 1 Ct.  Won by 2 wickets 

13 4th ODI – Tri-Series in Bangladesh 2008–09 59 (4x6); 4 Ct.  Won by 2 wickets 

14 5th ODI – India in Sri Lanka 2009 84 (4x8) (6x1); 2 Ct.  Won by 68 Runs