Kumar Sangakkara finished the ODI series against South Africa with 373 runs at an average of 93 and 13 dismissals behind the stumps. He was named Man of the Series.
“I am 35 years old and I am competing with guys who are 23, 24, 25 or 26. So I have got to keep up. I have to keep up my fitness, my shot making ability and everything. I am being pushed to be as good as the younger guys. That’s a lot of fun. It’s something that I am enjoying.”
Age seems to be no barrier for star batsman Kumar Sangakkara. He is the highest run getter in ODI cricket this year, having accumulated close to 900 runs at an amazing average of 73 and a strike rate of 92, with two centuries and six 50s in 15 innings.
In the recently concluded five match ODI series against the Proteas, Sangakkara accumulated 372 runs and averaged 93 with a strike rate of 107. It’s the most runs scored by a Sri Lankan in a bilateral series, and a significant point during the series was that the former captain looked as if he had unearthed a new game, playing some strokes that we had not seen him play in the past. Into the bargain, there were 11 catches and two stumpings as well behind the stumps from Sangakkara.
Sangakkara won three awards at last year’s annual ICC Awards, including the prestigious Cricketer of the Year award. His other two awards were Test Cricketer of the Year and Peoples’ Choice for Player of the Year. Something that he missed out on last year was ICC ODI Cricketer of the Year and this year he has done enough to stake a claim for that award too.
As expected, Sangakkara was named Player of the Series at the conclusion of the fifth ODI against South Africa on Wednesday, and he spoke to journalists on various subjects, which range from training hard to keep up with the demands of the game, his impressive away record, dominating South Africa (he was Man of the Series in 2004 when Sri Lanka whitewashed the Proteas 5-0), the bright future ahead for Lahiru Thirimanne, the most hated tournament by Sri Lankans – the IPL and lots more.
Here are the excerpts:
Question: You accumulated 372 runs in the series and there were 13 dismissals behind the stumps. Could you have not done better than what you have already done?
Sangakkara: Probably not as that good because I got a duck in the third ODI. It was a great opportunity for us to close out the series, because we know South Africa is a tough side. In that game, 223 was a great total to have restricted them to. But unfortunately, we lost too many wickets early on. Thisara got that over off for 35 runs and then it was a case of chasing run a ball. If we had a couple of more wickets in hand at that point, probably we could have closed out. That was probably one disappointing game in the entire series.
Question: You have now scored the most runs in ODIs between the two countries. How do you rate the current South African side?
Sangakkara: They have had quite an influx of players who have had very little experience in the sub-continent. I think even A. B. de Villiers had been here only once before and that was for a Test tour. J. P. Duminy has probably played here before. Maybe Robin Peterson also. It is tough for a lot of players to come and get accustomed to conditions. We have a lot of variety in our bowling.
Mendis, Herath, Dilshan and Senanayake. They are tough bowlers. That takes quite a lot getting used to. Even when guys like Kallis, Steyn and Smith were here, they found it tough. I think they will learn pretty quickly. They might come back stronger, but playing in the sub-continent, it takes some time to get used to conditions. It must have been a bit of a surprise for them, but it worked very well for us.
Question: Most people tend to think that the shorter versions of the games are a young man’s game. This year you are the highest run getter in ODI cricket so far. You seem to be getting better with age.
Sangakkara: I think with experience you tend to understand situations better. You fine tune your training and with experience you get to know how important is the time away from the game you spend. Not only focusing on the game, but that detachment from the game too helps you to focus back on the game. All of that have worked well. I am 35 years old and I am competing with guys who are 23, 24, 25 or 26. So, I have got to keep up. I have to keep up my fitness, my shot making ability and everything. I am being pushed to be as good as the younger guys. That’s a lot of fun. It’s something that I am enjoying.
Question: Most batsmen tend to do extremely well at home. But that’s quite unusual in your case. Of your 16 ODI hundreds, only three have come at home. Is it that you challenge yourself to perform better when conditions are hostile? If you need further inspiration, your childhood hero, Sir Viv Richards scored 11 ODI hundreds and all 11 of them were away from the Caribbean.
Sangakkara: If you take pride in considering yourself a good batsman, your away record has to be good. It is very rare that it is better than at home, but it’s got to be that. If you take guys like Ponting, Lara, Tendulkar, Viv Richards, Rahul Dravid, their away record has been great. That’s a real test as well to go away from home and whether the conditions are good or bad, you try to score runs. That helps you to be recognized as a good player. At home, I try to do as much as I can. I don’t look at it as two different things, but I have been lucky to do well away from home.
Question: We have seen some cases where they perform extremely well in the IPL, but when representing the nation, they don’t show the same commitment or the hunger. In your case, you seem to struggle in the IPL, you lost your place in the side, but when it comes to representing the country, you are still the team’s best player. Can you explain this?
Sangakkara: I don’t think it’s fair to look at players without a balanced view. I have represented the country for 13 years. A lot of special players have played alongside me, and there have been several new players as well. Not only the IPL, wherever they go and play, they won’t forget their responsibility of playing for the country. You might think that it is not the case, but I know in our dressing room, our players are extremely committed to playing for the country. Sometimes, the things that you see from outside is not quite the case. Sometimes, if you can come to our dressing room and take a closer look then that will give you a fair idea. The IPL or whatever, we get those opportunities, because we play for our country, if we don’t play for our country, we don’t get those opportunities. The IPL or Caribbean Premier League or whatever the tournament, you have to first play for your country well. If you neglect your national commitment, you will lose that and this. I think all players will get their priorities right. The country comes first and whatever the benefits you get thereafter, are bonuses.
Question: How do you asses young Lahiru Thirimanne. A lot of people compare his game to that of yours.
Sangakkara: He speaks to me regularly. Lahiru, looking at the long term needs to be a player who will have to bat at either number three or number four. From his game, what I gather is that he can have a long career. He thinks well about the game. You would have seen that he is capable of batting through tough situations and he is one to take up any challenge for the team. Even today, Angelo decided owing to his desire to try out something different, that Lahiru should be pushed to number three. That was a good decision and we saw that Lahiru, when he had a challenge like that, did well. I am quite satisfied with the way he played for us today.
Question: How do you compare his game with that of yours when you were his age?
Sangakkara: Lahiru as a 24-year-old bats better than what I did as a 24-year-old. He has got a lot of talent and he is a guy who understands situations pretty well. He is a guy who has a lot of shots, which he is not afraid to execute. Like I said, Lahiru is going to be a reliable run scoring batsman, whom we can rely on in any situation. I really watched him closely and his work ethics are great. His ability is there. He needs good dressing room support.
Question: This series, you played under two young captains. How do you assess Angelo Mathews and Dinesh Chandimal?
Answer: If you take every captain, he has a style of his own. Not only in this series, on previous tours too, Angelo has shown his captaincy skills. I am quite excited to see young players leading the side and doing the job. They have to learn. They could make mistakes and they will lose games. People read the game differently, but the young captains we have had have read the game well.
