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Top 10 Facts about Kumar Sangakkara

Kumar Chokshanada Sangakkara is a Sri Lankan cricket commentator, former professional cricketer, businessman, ICC Hall of Fame inductee and the former president of Marylebone Cricket Club. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest batsmen in the history of the sport.

As soon as he broke into the Sri Lankan side at the age of 22, while a law student, it was apparent that Kumar Sangakkara was destined for more than just batting stardom. Ranatunga had already changed the narrative of Sri Lankans being meek men who could be bullied. 

Sangakkara refined the belligerence, combining a suave exterior with cutting asides and sharp sledges from behind the stumps. Initially, his glovework wasn’t for the purists, but such was his batting ability that there was no question of displacing him from the XI. Here are the top 10 Facts about Kumar Sangakkara.

1. Kumar Sangakkara was an All-Rounder

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Besides being good at academics, Sangakkara was good at sports as well as other extracurricular activities. He played a number of sports like badminton, tennis, swimming, table tennis and cricket during his school days and even represented his country in badminton, tennis and cricket at his younger age.

Sangakkara was also a member of a choir and played the violin while in school. He also represented his school in tennis at the Under-17 level and could have very well chosen it as a career. But he chose cricket 鈥� his first passion

2.  Kumar Sangakkara was Youngest Person to Deliver Cowdrey Lecture

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In the year 2011, Sangakkara became the youngest person and the first active international player to deliver that prestigious MCC Spirit of Cricket Cowdrey Lecture at Lords. His speech was widely praised by the cricketing community and has been described as 鈥渙ne of the most important speeches in cricket history.鈥�

The Cowdrey Lecture also referred to as the MCC Spirit of Cricket Cowdrey Lecture, is an annual event organised by the Marylebone Cricket Club at Lord’s Cricket Ground. The event was first hosted in 2001, following the death of its eponym Late Lord Colin Cowdrey, in December 2000.

3. Kumar Sangakkara is a Qualified Lawyer 

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The youngest of four children, Sangakkara grew up in Kandy and received his primary and secondary education at Trinity College. He wanted to follow in his lawyer father鈥檚 footsteps and got enrolled at the University of Colombo to complete a degree in law but the rigours of cricket meant he had no time to complete his degree.

In the late 1990s, there was a kid from Kandy who came to Colombo to pursue his studies in law. The universities had been closed in the1980s, due to the JVP insurrection and as a result, there was a backlog in enrolling students to complete their degrees.  Sangakkara had to wait for two years for his chance to enter university in a bid to become a lawyer going in the footsteps of his father. So with a lot of spare time at his disposal, he decided to play some cricket.

4.  Sangakkara’s Family Life

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Sangakkara met his wife Yehali when he was about 16-17 and has been with her for well over 20 years now. Without a doubt, it s been the best partnership of his life. The couple has twins, a girl and a boy: Swyree and Kavith.

Sangakkara was born to Kumari Surangana and Kshema sangakkara in Matale and grew up in Kandy. His father was an attorney-at-law while his mother was a housewife. His siblings sisters Thushari and Saranga and an elder brother Vemindra have been prodigious since their childhood and have achieved national-level laurels during their school life.

5. Kumar Sangakkara’s Invitation to the WCC

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At the young age of 34, Sangakkara was invited to join the Marylebone Cricket Club World Cricket Committee (WCC). He is presently its youngest member and the second Sri Lankan to be invited to the WCC after Michael Tissera.

Established in April 2006, MCC’s world cricket committee is an independent body comprised of current and former international cricketers and umpires from across the globe. Meeting twice yearly to discuss the prevalent issues in the game, MCC鈥檚 World Cricket committee acts as a complementary body to ICC and its constituent nations.

6. Kumar Sangakkara’s Batting Records

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As a batsman, Sangakkara holds many records which are yet to be broken. These are as follows :

• After Jayawardene, he is only the second Sri Lankan to reach 10,000 test runs and the joint fastest to do so.
• Sangakkara holds the record for the fastest batsman to reach 8,000, 9,000 and 11,000 runs in tests.
• He and Jayawardene were involved in the highest partnership ever recorded in tests (624 runs), in which Sangakkara contributed a massive 285 runs.
• He is first batsman to score 4 centuries on the trot and as a specialist batsman, only the legendary Sir Don Bradman has a higher average than him.

7.  Sangakkara was  ICC ODI Player of the Year Award twice in 2011 & 2013

In the 2011 ICC Awards held in London, Sangakkara was named the ODI Player of the Year. During the voting period, he featured in 25 ODIs for the Sri Lankan side and scored 1049 runs at an average of around 55. Sangakkara ran riot in the 2012 ICC Awards as he picked up two of the most prestigious awards in cricket. He was at his best in Tests as well as the ODIs during the voting period.

For the third time on the run, Sangakkara won an ICC award. Although he was prolific in both Tests and ODIs in the year 2013. Even in the last tournament of his ODI career, which was the 2015 Cricket World Cup, he was in sublime form. Kumar scored 4 consecutive centuries in the event against Bangladesh, England, Australia, and Scotland. He is the sole cricketer to do so.

8. Sangakkara Deadly Partnership with Jayawardene on & off the Pitch

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He stitched a 624 runs partnership along with his mate Mahela Jayawardene for 3rd wicket against South Africa in 2006, which is the highest-ever partnership in the longest format of the game. Sanga accumulated 287 runs in the match.

His contemporary and another batting great from the island nation Mahela Jayawardene has been his close aide for the last 20 years. Both have played together and against since their school days and the partnership has lasted even after their retirements.

Both have been involved in the most famous partnership in the history of the game their 624-run stand against South Africa in 2006 which remains the highest-ever partnership for any wicket in First-Class cricket. Post-retirement, both have started a couple of business ventures together.

9.  Sangakkara Awards and Honours

Sangakkara has earned many awards and honours during his fantastic career. Along with his contemporary AB de Villiers, he dominated the number one spot in the ICC Test batting rankings over the past decade. He won the ICC Cricketer of the Year in 2012, Test Cricketer of the Year in 2012, and ODI Cricketer of the Year in 2011 and 2013.

He has also won the LG People鈥檚 Choice Award twice in 2011 and 2012 and has been named the Leading Cricketer in the World in the 2011 and 2015 editions of Wisden. In 2011, Sri Lanka s prestigious and pioneering LMD magazine nominated him as their Sri Lankan of the Year (SLOTY). He also won the award for Outstanding Contribution to Sport at the 5th Asian Awards, which were held in London on 17 April 2015.

10. Oscar Wilde is Kumar Sangakkara’s Favourite Author

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As a boy Kumar was a dedicated reader, a hobby he still enjoys the hobby with his favourite author being Oscar Wilde.

Oscar Fingal O’Flahertie Wills Wilde was an Irish poet and playwright. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular playwrights in London in the early 1890s.

His literary reputation rests largely on his novel The Picture of Dorian Gray (1891) and on his masterful comedies of manners Lady Windermere’s Fan (1892) and The Importance of Being Earnest (1895). He was also known for his wit, his flamboyance, and his trials and jail sentence for homosexual acts.

Kumar Sangakkara is arguably one of the greatest Sri Lankan player of all time whose achievements on the field are pretty spectacular. His cover drives are unmatched and his delicate touches were a treat to watch.