An outstanding achievement again

When he goes out to bat, he puts Sri Lanka on the map. He makes Sri Lankans feel proud. When he delivers a speech – however short it may be – he talks sense, shows confidence, and displays sincerity. 

So it was at the Asian Awards ceremony a few days back when Kumar Sangakkara collected the ‘Outstanding Contribution to Sport Award’ at London’s Grosvenor House Hotel. It was once again a pleasure to watch him ‘perform’, through The Video Hub.

Presenting the award, the former England footballer and sports broadcaster Gary Lineker said that he respects Sangakkara immensely. “I have watched his cricketing brilliance and performances over a period of time for many years,” he said. 

Prior to the presentation, a short video clip summed up Sangakkara’s achievements:

First in the ICC Test Rankings – Batting as at February 2015, having dominated the scene in the last decade

First cricketer to score more than 150 in four consecutive matches. 

First Test batsman to reach 8,000, 9,000, 11,000 and 12,000 runs. 

Shares the highest partnership of 624 runs against South Africa

Most number of dismissals in one-dayers

World No. 1 in stumping

Most number of runs in all forms of the game in one calendar year

First to score four consecutive centuries in the World Cup 2015

Captained Sri Lanka One-Day, T20 and National teams

He was hailed as “one of the greatest batsmen ever to have played the game”.

In a brief speech accepting the award, Sangakkara recollected how he started playing cricket “by accident at the ripe old age of 16” in an Asian context. 

He expressed his surprise in being selected for the award when “my career is now breathing its last as in a few months I will be journeying into oblivion of retirement”.

He said that cricket in Sri Lanka is slightly more than a game or a sport. He reminded how as a team, they held the country together in times of strike. 

“It seems rather funny to think that a sport like cricket could do that but in Sri Lanka where we have seen the ravages of a 30-year old war, our team was an ideal representation of different ethnicities, different races, religions, castes and creeds playing together to achieve the best for our country,” he said amidst applause from the audience. 

He concluded by saying that he owes a deep sense of gratitude to his fans, team mates, friends and his family members for what he has been able to achieve.

Sangakkara is the second Sri Lankan to get the award. The first was Muttiah Muralidaran in 2011. Last year Indian Cricket Captain M.S. Dhoni was the winner.

The Asian Awards recognise and reward outstanding achievements across 11 categories. Winners are chosen from among individuals born throughout Asia. The awards represent Asian achievement around the globe. 

Awards are nothing new to Sangakkara.  Apart from the several Man of the Match awards he collected during the World Cup 2015, earlier this year Wisden Cricket Almanac chose him as Leading Cricketer of the Year for his performance in 2014. It was the second time he was selected. 

The year 2014 saw him score an all-time record of 2868 runs in international games in a calendar year, including a triple century. He was Man of the Match in Sri Lanka’s WT20 win in the final over India.