On World Cup stage, Kumar Sangakkara gets the recognition he deserves

When Suresh Perera played for Sri Lanka in the early 2000s, he had no inkling that his teammate was destined for greatness. Perera, who played three Tests and 20 ODIs between 1998 and 2001, was impressed by his affable teammate’s work ethic. But he believed the left-handed batsman’s limited range of strokes and cautiousness would be susceptible against the world’s best bowlers. “When I was playing for Sri Lanka, Kumar [Sangakkara] was a fringe player and he did not really stand out in his ability,” Perera tells Firstpost. “His batting was very careful when he started and it was hard to see him being able to dominate against world class bowlers.” Perera’s scepticism proved correct initially. Sangakkara started his international career slowly, averaging in the mid-20s with a mediocre strike rate of under 70 through 75 ODI innings. Even in Tests, where Sangakkara’s renowned mental fortitude equips him best, he averaged an acceptable but hardly earth-shattering 42 after four years at the international level. [caption id=“attachment_2158131” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Kumar Sangakkara has made four consecutive ODI hundreds in the World Cup. AFP[/caption] It is often said that an indefatigable appetite for hard work is the common characteristic uniting successful people in any walk of life. With Sangakkara, it’s easy to be besotted by his exquisite strokes, particularly his breathtaking cover drives. But it is Sangakkara’s sheer resoluteness to grind that turned around his fortunes and catapulted his career to heights few have ever reached. “Even when he was young and struggling to get into the team, he worked so hard on his game,” Perera says. “Kumar would always stay in the nets longer than everybody else and continue batting until he felt like he had improved his game. He has mastered his game now. It did not happen all at once but through tireless work throughout the years and he ended up a dominant batsman in all formats.” Sangakkara’s famed humility and intellect, which received widespread acclaim after his seminal MCC lecture in 2011, is the backbone to his success as a cricketer, according to Perera. “He is very strong mentally but he genuinely cares about the game and the broader impacts cricket has on society,” Perera says. “Kumar is actually a very relaxed person and likes to have some fun but once he puts the pads on he’s all about business. He has a great ability to switch on, but he also knows when to switch off, which is also very important.” It has often felt the graceful Sri Lankan master is overshadowed in comparison to the other modern great batsmen – Tendulkar, Lara, Ponting and Kallis. It is certainly true in Australia, where alleged cricket tragics are adamant Sangakkara is “in the league of Damien Martyn”. The derision is mainly due to his modest average of 43.9 against Australia, although from only 11 Tests, compared to his incredible career average of 58.66 over 130 Tests, which betters any of his modern counterparts. Some believe the average is skewed because of his obliteration of Bangladesh and Zimbabwe, against whom he averages more than 90 from 20 Tests. But it isn’t his fault Sri Lanka has played Bangladesh more than Australia. A chunk of the scepticism, from Australians anyway, can be attributed to the fact that some of the more causal cricket fans haven’t actually watched Sangakkara bat often. Due to inept scheduling, Sangakkara has only played five Tests in Australia. Conversely, Tendulkar played 20 Tests, Lara 18 and Kallis 15. Many would be surprised to learn that Sangakkara averages more than 60 in Australia, with six scores over 50 from 10 innings. To make it worse, Sri Lanka was often shunned by the scheduling, including playing two Tests in mid-2004 in Cairns and Darwin during Australia’s winter. It’s a time of year where Australia’s football codes hog the limelight, and this short series was promptly relegated to the background. In 2007, Sri Lanka played two Tests very early in the Australian cricket season and it was overshadowed by the ensuing prominent, and infamous, Indian series during the peak of the Australian summer Sangakkara’s majestic 192, during a forlorn massive run chase in Hobart, is therefore somewhat neglected when memorable Test innings scored in Australia are evoked. When Sri Lanka belatedly played during the cauldron of Australia’s summer in 2012-13, Sangakkara had the misfortune of copping the wrath of a Mitchell Johnson bouncer during the Second Test at the MCG to end his tour prematurely. It meant Sangakkara would never have the privilege of playing a Test at the SCG. His ability to create a legacy in Australia was somewhat stymied – through no fault of his own - by also not playing Tests at the WACA, Gabba and Adelaide Oval. Astonishingly, he has played just one Test at Australia’s five main grounds. But Sangakkara’s wondrous batting under the glaring spotlight of the World Cup has granted him a belated platform in Australia. Compiling four consecutive hundreds, including a belligerent century against Australia at the SCG, has earned him a magnitude of plaudits from the mainstream public. It appears his continued accumulation of runs has finally silenced the nagging cynics. Perera, who now lives and plays local cricket in Perth, believes the widespread acclaim is something Sangakkara has long deserved. “I do think he has not been properly appreciated in Australia over the years,” he says. “People can offer excuses but the fact is he has made runs all over the world and in all formats. And unlike other great players, Kumar just keeps getting better and better.” The World Cup will be the final chapter of Sangakkara’s ODI career, with his Test retirement set for August. To compound Sri Lanka’s woes, Mahela Jayawardene - their other indefatigable figure - will retire from international cricket after the World Cup. Perera predicts Sri Lanka is set for a difficult period in the aftermath of their retirements. “They are just so hard to replace, not just as players but their influence around the team as true gentlemen and leaders,” he says. “They are much-loved in Sri Lanka but they have set a great example for the younger players to follow.” Before it’s too late, Perera implores cricket fans to savour the final images of Sangakkara’s career. “Kumar is a truly special player and person, and that combination is rare,” he says. “Kumar is like a Bradman or Tendulkar figure for Sri Lankans. He is irreplaceable.”