Biography of Kumar Sangakkara | Stats & Records | Family
Biography of Kumar Sangakkara | Stats & Records | Family
Kumar Sangakkara with his children and wife | Celebrity
Kumar Sangakkara - Bio, Family, Trivia | Famous Birthdays
(Photos) Kumar Sangakkara with his family at a friend's
Kumar Sangakkara’s House in Galle Fort: The Game-Changer
Andrew Fidel Fernando meets Kumar Sangakkara's father
Kumar Sangakkara gets emotional during his farewell speech
Kumar Sangakkara with his family - Island Cricket
Interview: Kumar Sangakkara - from the eyes of his wife Yehali
Kumar Sangakkara’s emotional moments with wife Yehali and
kumar sangakkara and his family
kumar sangakkara and his family - win
I created an All-time XII with one player from each test team. Try it yourself in the comments.
[I don’t know if this has been done before on here; I’ve been around a while and I can’t remember, so I did a search, but nothing came up; sorry in advance if this is well-trodden ground.] Despite seeming like a simple task, this was actually harder than it looks; I realised right-off-the-bat that I couldn’t simply pick whomever I think were the best players from each test-playing board, because I would probably end up with a team which didn’t have players filling all the appropriate positions (e.g. too many number 3s/4s, not enough openers, no wicket-keeper, not a very good bowling composition). After taking this into consideration, I had to ensure that I balanced filling rolls with picking players that represented their nation as genuine world-class players. I ended up with something that I am pretty happy with (although I am still unsure of some of it), and I wanted to share this with you guys, as I know you all have very strong opinions, and I really want to read your views; and it would be interesting to see if people from other countries (I’m English), think about players very differently. Anyway, I’ve given my reasoning for selecting the players, just in case you’re interested. 1) SUNIL GAVASKAR (India): One of the greatest openers the world has ever seen, and in my opinion the best batsman that India has ever produced. I don’t know how he is viewed in India, but from an English perspective, this guy is criminally underrated. Personally, I would say that he is a tiny bit better than Tendulkar, given how much harder it is opening the batting, the fact that Sunny G played against some of the best bowling attacks of all-time (Looking at you, West Indies), and had fewer minnows to beat-up. I know Tendulkar is beloved in India, and this is not disrespect to a great player, so please don’t hurt me. 2) HERBERT SUTCLIFFE (England): As an Englishman, I must admit that it would be tricky to pick any player that I have ever watched as all-time great. Certainly, Pietersen and Cook were great batsmen, but they don’t belong here; Anderson as a bowler, maybe, but I still think he pales in comparison to the West-Indian pacers of the 70s and 80s. However, when talking with older members of my family, it becomes clear that players like Sutcliffe, Hobbs, and Hammond were phenomenal cricket players. I can only look at statistics, but they certainly back them up. From doing research it seems clear to me that Sutcliffe may have been the best opener in history, so as an Englishman, I’ll take that. 3) DON BRADMAN (Australia): Who else? Probably the easiest pick of the lot. The only issue is that Hayden, Smith, Warne, Gilchrist, McGrath, and many others that have tormented my country for so long must be omitted. Aussies, you don’t know how lucky you are. 4) KUMAR SANGAKKARA, Captain (Sri Lanka): It was a toss-up between choosing Murali and Williamson, or Hadlee and Sanga. I went with the latter because I find it hard to choose a current player from a team with so much history, and because I think Sangakkara was the best batsman of his era, pure and simple. It was a pleasure to watch him bat, every shot effortless and elegant, and the runs just kept coming. A magnificent player and a fine captain, during what was a golden era of cricket in Sri Lanka. Even now, in his early-forties, I reckon he could still put on his cricket whites and destroy the worlds best bowling attacks. I’ve chosen him as captain, because unlike many players, the captaincy did not burden him, if anything it made him even better. “Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown”, unless they’re Kumar Sangakkara. 5) JACQUES KALLIS (South Africa): Batting, fielding, bowling; this man had it all in spades. Perhaps the greatest cricket player of the modern era, and an all-rounder beyond compare, apart from the great Sir Garfield Sobers. He won many games for South Africa, it wasn’t always pretty, but he did it consistently. With a better batting average than Tendulkar and Ponting, and a better bowling average than Vettori and Zaheer Khan, how could I not include this colossus of South African cricket? 6) SHAKIB AL-HASAN (Bangladesh): At the time of writing, Shakib has the 3rd-most test runs for Bangladesh, and 3rd-most test wickets, although he has been higher for both. That isn’t really that important; the simple fact of the matter is that, for me, he IS Bangladeshi Cricket. Even though it wasn’t test cricket, the world cup served to cement that fact that he is undoubtedly a superstar of world cricket, and a player of the highest calibre. Well played Shakib. 7) ANDY FLOWER, wicket-keeper (Zimbabwe): The only world-class player to ever come from Zimbabwe, and with The Don removing Gilchrist from the equation, this decision was only made simpler. When people talk about great wicket-keepers, I don’t think this man gets enough of a mention. He was also a pretty good coach for England, so there’s that too. 8) Sir RICHARD HADLEE (New Zealand): Until Kane Williamson came along, there was not doubt that this man was the greatest cricketer New Zealand has ever produced, and he belongs on this list ahead of everyone’s favourite Kiwi on the basis that his incredible bowling ability carried New Zealand through more than an entire decade of test matches. He was also pretty handy with the bat. The first player to reach 400 test wickets, I think he certainly belongs here. 9) WASIM AKRAM (Pakistan): He was once described to me as the best left-arm fast bowler of all-time, and I would’ve been hard-pressed to disagree. He had every trick in the book; he could swing it both ways, he could bowl a vicious bouncer, send down an excellent deceptive slower delivery, and utilise reverse swing to its fullest. He was also capable of holding a bat. There are plenty of good players who could have represented Pakistan, but I don’t think any quite have what Wasim Akram has. He was a player who just had that special something that you only see in players that will go down in history as the best at what they do. Make no mistake, he has. 10) RASHID KHAN (Afghanistan): I had to choose between benching my Irish representative and my representative from Afghanistan. It was difficult, but Rashid’s star power is unquestionable; an all-format player whose spinning can make the best batsmen look average; and I wouldn’t have had a spin bowler after choosing Sangakkara over Muralitharan. So, in the end I went for Rashid Khan. He can bowl, he can bat, he can captain. The only thing I’m not sure of is his age. 11) MALCOLM MARSHALL (West Indies): He could well be the greatest pace bowler that the world has ever seen, and definitely one of the scariest. If I’m being fair, it was very hard to pick my West Indian player; even the fast bowlers (Marshall, Ambrose, Walsh, Holder, Garner, Bishop) could all make a solid claim for being one of the greatest of all time. That’s discounting players of other disciplines, such as Lara, Richards, Sobers, Greenidge, Walcott, and Chanderpaul. In truth, I could have gone with any of them, and it’s for such a reason that I controversially believe that a West-Indian all-time XI would beat any other all-time XI from any other team, never mind being the scariest. In the end, I went with Marshall, who probably was the best of the Caribbean quicks, but it’s a difficult one either way. 12) KEVIN O’BRIEN (Ireland): Dear Ireland, I am very sorry. One team had to be on the bench, and it ended up being you. Hopefully in a few decades time we will be speaking about an Irish player in the same manner as we speak about Tendulkar or Kallis; until then you’ll have to bring out the drinks. It’s also not the worst thing we English have done to you. It could only be one man, to tell the truth. Not only is he Ireland’s only test centurion, but his exploits in limited overs cricket, especially against us (What a great innings that was), suggest that, had Ireland become a test team sooner, he may have been Ireland’s Andy Flower, and that’s no mean feat. (I reposted this because I messed up the formatting, because I'm an idiot)
"That time I met ______" - my stories meeting famous cricket players. What's yours?
Hi cricket, the other post about Nawaz got me curious about what your stories are on meeting cricketers. I know we did this a while ago, but we have a tonne of new members so it'd be good to see what everyone has to say. I've been fortunate enough to come across a variety of cricket players, some albeit strange and some ecstatic. So lets share our "That time I met ________" stories - here goes me: That time I met Shahid Afridi - first time meeting a cricket player, and someone famous overall. I was on a flight from Singapore to Karachi in 2011, and our layover was in Dubai. The world cup had recently concluded, Afridi being the captain of the team. He had "retired" from the team after, and was on the verge of his "comeback" (surprise surprise), and so he was returning to Karachi from London. I heard from somewhere that he was to land around 9ish pm, which was the same as my landing time, and I also knew that Emirates flew from London to Karachi with a layover in Dubai. Thus I had speculated that he could potentially be on my flight, being the 15 year old optimistic fuck I was. Of course I didn't believe it, but I had to give it a try right? I walked up towards the business class section, and glanced back and there he was, Shahid fucking Afridi. It was a huge adrenaline rush because I was somehow right, I'd never met a famous person before, and at the time Afridi was my childhood hero as for any young Pakistani (today, its Misbah over him any day). I spoke to him for a few minutes, told him he did well for us in the world cup, and that I was a huge fan. He thanked me and signed my plane ticket, and said he would snap a photo with when we got off the plane. Unfortunately, the reception for him was likewise to that of Misbah's the other day, and there were too many people surrounding him for me to do that. But this was my first taste of meeting someone I idolized, will forever cherish this memory. That time I met Kumar Sangakkara, Muralitharan & Russel Arnold - so in 2012, these guys came to SG for a training session at the Singapore Cricket Club. My friend and cousins and I payed about $50 for a ticket to go meet them and take part in this session. To date, Sanga is the most humble and down to earth man I have ever met. My respect for that man just elevated even more after that day. Muralitharan was sort of a dick, he shook hands with people but refused to take pictures after doing so with one or two kids. Sanga, on the other hand, delayed giving a talk in order to take a photo with each and every person who asked him, and sign everyones bats. He signed my bat and snapped a photo with my friends and I. And no one gave a fuck about Russel Arnold because, well, Russel Arnold. Sanga and Murali then gave a talk to everyone and were just discussing banter that went on on the field or when they batted together, it was very cool and down to Earth. That time I met Mushfiqur Rahim, Malinga, Dilshan, Sanga again and the rest of the SL squad at the time - it was early 2013 and I was in Kandy during a family trip to Sri Lanka. There was a series going on between SL and Bangladesh at the time, and they had team dinners at the hotel I was at. I briefly met and shook hands with the SL squad and managed to do the same with just Mushfiqur. I ran into Senanayake when using a restroom in the hotel and snapped a photo with him just for the sake of it, its probably somewhere deep in my computer or files. That time I met Babar Azam, M Nawaz, Unmukt Chand, KL Rahul, Jasprit Bumrah, Hammad Azam, Raza Hasan, Bilawal Bhatti and more - so for this, it was interesting. There was a random tournament in Singapore, where the Pak U23, India U23, SL U23, Bangladesh U23, Afghan nat'l and Singapore nat'l teams were competing. The lack of demand of cricket in Singapore worked in our favour because after the Pak games my friends and I got to go meet the players, who were all quite chill. They invited us to chill at their hotel, we got food with them on a Saturday night and were talking. I have been a big fan of Babar Azam for obvious reasons, I was following his U19 records at the time and am glad he's made it where he is today. Babar and I had a chat about Misbah, because it would boil my blood to hear other Pakistanis criticize him, and it was refreshing to hear Babar talk highly of the captain and call him "absolutely incredible". My friends and I proceeded to take some of these guys clubbing, it was a great time lmao. Though all these names are the smallest in this list of famous cricketers ive met, this experience was probably the best. The final was played between PakU23 and IndiaU23, and we got thrashed, surprise surprise. After the game, we got to meet some of the India players, including Bumrah, Unmukt Chand, KL Rahul (who performed best in the final) and more names I don't remember. Its good to see that a few of these players have gone on to do well for their respective countries. I was also surprised that Chand has not made it far, because he used to be quite good from what I remember. Its also funny that Raza Hasan got banned for doing coke because he was fucking hammered at the club lol. And finally, that time I met Sachin Tendulkar - I bet a lot of you guys are fucking jealous/mad at reading that, especially if you're Indian. Don't worry, I would be too. Meeting Sach was something man. He came to Singapore in 2014 for a training event homologous to that which Sanga and Murali came for. Except, they restricted it to members of the Singapore cricket club only this time, so we couldn't even pay to go see him (you still had to pay 50 if you were a member). While that sucked, my buddy and I said there's no way we're not trying. We went all the way around the club and somehow managed to sneak in from one of the rear entrances when security wasn't looking (I can't make this shit up). When we saw Sachin, he was surrounded, we could barely get towards the front. He was a little dickish tbh because he wasn't taking pictures with anybody, but I'll be fair to say he was fucking surrounded (unlike Murali, he was just a dick). I still snapped a photo of him and got to shake his hand, so that was cool enough. The fact that it was Sachin was just crazy. BONUS: That time I met Hugh Jackman - came to Singapore for an X Men screening, I was lucky enough for him to stop and say hi and snap a selfie with me and some friends. He's a cricket fan and smacked Shane Warne in the nets so I guess this counts? Hahah So cricket, what are your stories? Please share!
Kohli at today's Press Conferences says "We noticed Australia have been taking help from dressing room for DRS reviews and India had complained about it to the match referee." (325 points, 513 comments)
Kohli at today's Press Conferences says "We noticed Australia have been taking help from dressing room for DRS reviews and India had complained about it to the match referee." (321 points, 514 comments)
Interview: Kumar Sangakkara - from the eyes of his wife Yehali So I think for him, family is very important - his parents, his sisters, his siblings, his children. He is a person, even if he is going through a bad patch, he is very strong in his mind. He will be himself and get out of it. He is a very easygoing person as well, and a very Kumar Sangakkara deeply moved everyone at the MCC Spirit of Cricket Cowdrey Lecture at Lord’s Cricket Ground, London in July of 2011, in his speech in which he explored the nature of Sri Lanka. It is this rich mix of religions and nationalities that attracted Kumar to Galle Fort, which has been a part of his life for almost as long as cricket Nov 6, 2014 - Kumar Sangakkara with his children and wife. Nov 6, 2014 - Kumar Sangakkara with his children and wife. Pinterest. Today. instagram, age, husband, family and see gorgeous picture of yusuf pathan's wife afreen khan. Kumble with his wife,children &Parents. Kishor M N. Ab De Villiers. Ex Wives. World Cup. Cricket. Caribbean. Abs Photos of Kumar Sangakkara and family at a recent wedding. Forgot password? Enter your account data and we will send you a link to reset your password. Sangakaara thanked his family, coaches, friends, fans, teammates and the Indian team and said that representing Sri Lanka gave him immense pleasure. Kumar Sangakkara’s emotional moments with wife Yehali and family at felicitation ceremony after second Test. Updated: August 24, 2015 7:56:56 pm. 1 / 29 . Kumar Sangakkara kisses his wife Yehali during the felicitation ceremony for the retiring left-hander. (Source: Reuters) 2 / 29 . Yehali was present in the stadium on all five days and was Kumar Sangakkara – Personal Life & Family. Kumar Sangakkara is married to Yehali. They have twins, a girl Swyree and son Kavith. Kumar Sangakkara wife Yehali played an important part in Sanga’s life sacrificing everything for his success. All of his siblings are sportsman at the national level. Kumar Sangakkara family resides in Kandy. Family Life. He was born in Matale, Sri Lanka. His father, Swarnakumara Sangakkara, was an attorney. He married Yehali Sangakkara in 2003, and they have two kids: Kavith and Swyree. Associated With. He won the Wisden Leading Cricketer in the World award in 2011 and 2015, making him the second player, after Virender Sehwag, to earn the honor twice. Kumar Sangakkara says he owes a lot of his success to his father, who wants him to strive for a standard of consistency only matched by Don Bradman Kumar Sangakkara's parents, Kumari and Kshema Kumar Sangakkara with his family at a friend’s wedding. 0 Shares 179 Views 0 Comments. Harin baffled as Sanga, Mahela back Namal. Trending 0 Shares 424 Views 0 Comments. Howzat Aluthgamage! Aravinda, Sanga back in fray. 1:42. 0 Shares 100 Views 0 Comments.