The legendary left-handed wicket-keeper batsman of Sri Lanka, Kumar Sangakkara, will hang his boots from international Test cricket after the second match against India.
This Test series between India and Sri Lanka in the island nation will be the farewell series for the batting legend, who has scored 12,305 runs in the longest format of the game; the highest by any Lankan batsmen.
Team India would look to put an end to their 22-year-long wait by winning a Test series in Sri Lanka and not let Sangakkara score a lot of runs against them. But along with that, the Virat Kohli-led Indian team are planning for a farewell for Sangakkara.
"Great man and a great cricketer, he deserves a very good farewell and we will prepare accordingly. But hopefully we will also get him out cheaply," Kohlli told the reporters.
Meanwhile, former Sri Lankan batting legend Mahela Jayawardene, who also happens to be Sangakkara's best friend, has heaped praise on the latter. He said that Sangakkara is the "greatest batsmen" that their country has ever produced.
Sangakkara has also scored over 14,000 ODI runs and he retired from that format of the game after ICC World Cup 2015 in Australia. He also scored four back-to-back centuries in the World Cup 2015 in Down Under. In Test cricket, Sangakkara has an average of more than 58, which is more than any other wicket-keeper batsmen the world has ever produced.
"Let me put it straight. Kumar Sangakkara is the best batsman that Sri Lanka has ever produced. Aravinda De Silva will always be a sentimental favourite for most of the Sri Lankans including me but numbers alone make Kumar a phenomenal achiever. More than 60 international centuries (38 in Tests and 25 ODIs). Look at those staggering numbers. Kumar's greatness was his ability to score runs against any attack in all types of conditions," Jayawardene said.
"He really pushed his boundaries and have set some imposing targets for the next generation of cricketers. In any international sport, there are only a few who attained greatness in every aspect, whether for your performance on the field or your conduct off it. Kumar was one such player. The void left by him will take some time to fill. I believe Sri Lankan cricket as a whole was blessed to have him. I consider myself lucky to have played alongside a champion performer like Kumar," he added.
