Sri Lanka’s cricketer Kumar Sangakkara proved that he is as focused and entertaining off the cricket field when he addressed the weekly meeting of Colombo Uptown recently.

Sangakkara kept the audience enthralled with his eloquence as he took them through his career as a cricketer and the many ups and down he has experienced.

Whilst he had experienced many great heights which he could recall with pleasure, on the cricket field the most depressing moment was when Sri Lanka was beaten by Kenya in the World Cup.
“We stayed in our rooms for two whole days because the Kenyans were celebrating everywhere around us”, he said.

Sangakkara also gave the audience his personal view on a wide range of cricketing issues. He said he felt Sri Lanka always had the talent but lacked consistency in harnessing that talent to optimum levels.

He felt that the team’s recent purple patch was due to a strong fourfold work ethic that they followed. Commitment, Pride, Enjoyment and Belief were the four pillars of their code – Commitment to the team, the training, the coaching etc, Pride in playing for one’s country, Enjoyment in what they achieved as a team and Belief in their own and each other’s ability.

According to Sangakkara most coaches can only make a maximum of 5% difference in the performance of a team. He was also of the opinion that individualities of persons must be encouraged particularly the unorthodox because they were good for the game, citing Lasith Malinga as a classic example.

One of Sri Lanka’s most gifted players, Sangakkara is arguably one of the best batsmen in world cricket today. Still in the prime of his career, he is set to be one of the greatest ever cricketers produced by Sri Lanka by the time he retires from the game. By that time he would have also most probably have had the distinction of leading his country’s cricket team too.

A shrewd analyst of the game, Sangakkara who put his law degree on hold to concentrate on cricket, brings with him a very professional approach and adds an exciting dimension to the team with his multi faceted talent.

Initially pressed into the wicketkeeper’s role, Sangakkara has worked so hard at this aspect that he is now one of the leading wicketkeeper batsmen in the world. Unlike most wicketkeepers who bat lower down the order, Sangakkara fits into the vital number three slot in his team. His keeping too is a far more demanding task as he has to do so to the wiles of Muttiah Muralitharan.

That is not all, he also plays the role of chief vocalist and motivator behind the stumps doling out encouragement to the bowlers and sledging the batsmen.

Recently Sangakkara who is the Vice captain of the Sri Lanka team, made 287 and shared in a world record partnership of 634 with his skipper Mahela Jayawardena (374) in a test against South Africa.

The pair are the best of friends and have shared many crucial partnerships for their team. Interestingly, when Sangakkara walked out to bat in his test debut in July 2000 it was Jayawardena who was at the other end. The two put on 80 runs in their first ever innings together.

At the end of the meeting, Sangakkara probably felt he was actually at the end of a cricket match as he was mobbed by fans for autographs and had to pose for numerous photographs as well.