President Maithripala Sirisena (L) presents a special memento to Sri Lanka’s Kumar Sangakkara as Sri Lanka’s Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe (C) applauds during Sangakkara’s retirement ceremony after India won their second test cricket match against Sri Lanka in Colombo 24 August – Reuters/Dinuka Liyanawatte
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Sangakkara makes emotional farewell speech on the last day of his cricketing career
ESPNCricinfo: President of Sri Lanka, Prime Minister, Members of Parliament, all the well wishers and the invitees, fans, all my friends, my family – who are all here, which is a rare occasion that all of us are together – Virat Kohli and the Indian team, Angelo and my team, I have got so many people to thank here.
I will start off with my school – Trinity College, Kandy. Trinity College gave me a fantastic ground there in Kandy. It was an amazing school to go to. I owe a lot of who I am today to the grounding and foundation I got there. To all my coaches – I had so many because my father used to take me to so many coaches when I was young – a big thank you.
To all my past captains, to Sri Lanka Cricket, to all my team-mates, thank you very much for everything that you’ve done for me. The support that I received, the inspiration, the drive and the commitment you have shown, not just to the game but also to each other and to me, I value all very, very highly. I am going to miss all that chat we had in the dressing room.
To Charlie and Suthami Austin, thank you very much for managing me. You’ve become much more than managing, you’ve become family. I know I haven’t thanked you enough in the past but today I’d like to say a huge thank you to Charlie and Suthami for being friends and being my managers and most of all for making me the godfather of your beautiful children.
I didn’t have to look far for inspiration (gets emotional). My parents are here. I didn’t have to look far. I had amazing siblings. I am blessed with a wonderful family. I was blessed to be born as your children. When I look up at the box, people that I’ve known for 30 years, friends, family, everyone is here and to see that they love me is great and it will be my greatest achievement.
A lot of people ask me who inspired me and I always say I didn’t have to look far for inspiration. I am sorry I don’t want to embarrass you too much, but I didn’t have to look far from my home for inspiration because I have the most amazing parents that anyone could wish for.
I had amazing siblings and all the support, the love that they showed over the years, whether I played cricket or not, whether I did well or not, the only place I could go and feel safe was home and thank you ‘amma’ (mother) and ‘apachchi’ (father). Thank you.
It’s been one of the most special privileges of my life to play in front of the Sri Lankan people and Sri Lankan fans. I’m especially thankful to your love and support. My innings has ended. I won’t play international cricket again. But I’ll come with you Khettarama, to Galle, to Tamil Union, and to SSC to watch the young cricketers play.
To Virat and his team, thank you most of all for the wonderful cricket that you’ve played. I can’t ask for anything more than tough cricket when I’m leaving and you guys over the years have been our toughest opponents.
We’ve planned to beat you, we have at times and at other times we have failed, but thank you so much for putting in that effort. It doesn’t matter whether we lost today; we will try to beat you again in the next game, but thank you for the toughness, thank you for giving no quarter, and thank you for really making it a privilege of mine to play against you.
And to Angelo and the team… Angie you’ve got an amazing team, you’ve got an amazing future and I just hope you will work hard and enjoy this sport, this sport we only play for a short time. It comes and goes, but don’t be afraid. Take pride in what you do, don’t be afraid to lose when you are searching for a win, and keep Sri Lanka and the flag flying high.
Kumar Sangakkara bids emotional farewell, says family helped him conquer world
Kumar Sangakkara with his family members after his last Test, Sri Lanka v India, 2nd Test, P Sara Oval, Colombo, 5th day, August 24, 2015
Kumar Sangakkara (L) hugs his wife Yehali during his retirement ceremony after India won their second test cricket match against Sri Lanka in Colombo 24 August – Reuters/Dinuka Liyanawatte
Under a sunny Colombo sky on Monday, it was the Indian cricket team that won the second Test but it was Kumar Sangakkara who walked away as the winner of the game called life. A gentleman of international cricket for over 15 years, the iconic Sri Lankan player called time on his illustrious career - one he built as much with his cricket as with his kind words and genial nature.
It is extremely rare for Sri Lankans to cheer after Sri Lanka’s defeat on the cricket field. And yet, there were thousand all around P Sara Oval who stood up in unison after their side’s 278-run defeat to Virat Kohli’s India. It was Kohli’s first Test win as captain but – much more importantly – was Sangakkara’s final hurrah. Ever the gracious man, Kumar, as he is fondly called, was the first to walk out to congratulate the Indians for their win before making way to a special ceremony for him. (‘Sangakkara Acknowledges Years of Love and Support’)
While the ceremony had several dignitaries and former cricketers - including Arjuna Ranatunga and Sunil Gavaskar – who hailed the 38-year-old cricketer, it was Sangakkara’s words that truly touched a chord with fans all around.
“I have often been asked what I feel is my most outstanding achievement. Today, I would like to say that to go back home and see my family’s unconditional love has been my biggest achievement,” said a visibly emotional Sangakkara. (‘Sangakkara Messy, Want him Back Home’) “I am sorry but I am usually not this emotional but it’s very rare that my parents and my extended family come together to watch me play. It has been amazing.” Sangakkara reserved his biggest word of thanks for his parents and he wholeheartedly thanked them for making him the man he is.
“I never had to look too far for inspiration as it was always there at home. They say you can choose your friends but not your family. I am so glad that I was born into yours,” Sangakkara said looking towards his parents, who were clearly fighting hard not to be overcome by their emotions. Wife Yehali was by their side – wearing what looked like a moist pair of dark sunglasses! Born in Matale and brought up in Kandy, Sangakkara hardly forgot people who mentored him in his early years. “I did my schooling in Kandy and it was where I truly got my grounding and my foundation. I also had several coaches and each one of them was absolutely fantastic,” said Sangakkara as he went on to thank several other people for helping and guiding him through the course of his life so far. Interestingly, Sangakkara, unlike a Sachin Tendulkar, did not have any prepared note in his hand and his speech of a couple of minutes was completely impromptu. It was however, crisp and elegant - much like his batting and conduct. A true sportsman at heart, the cricketer with 68 international centuries also thanked the opposition for a tough game of cricket. “I would like to thank Virat and his team for all the kind words. More though, I would like to thank them for a tough fight in this Test. I couldn’t have asked for more as losses don’t matter, good cricket does,” he said.
Indeed, runs and wickets are not the only thing to sporting greatness – words and thoughts are right up there as well. And Sangakkara will always be a huge ambassador for all that’s good in the sport – for years and years to come. (NDTV)
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Sangakkara says he enjoyed every moment playing Test cricket despite losing
Kumar Sangakkara (C) poses for photographs with ground workers during his retirement ceremony after India won their second test cricket match against Sri Lanka in Colombo 24 August. Sangakkara officially announced that he will retire test cricket after the second test cricket match against India – Reuters/Dinuka Liyanawatte
Reuters: Sri Lankan batting great, Kumar Sangakkara, said that he enjoyed every moment playing the Test cricket even after ending up in the losing side as India wins by 278 run in the second Test on Monday (24).
Sangakkara made 18 in his final Test innings as India had dominated fourth day’s play.
For the fourth successive innings in the series, off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin dismissed the 37-year-old left-hander to send groans across the P Sara Oval in Colombo.
Sangakkara walked out to a guard-of-honour by the Indians and the umpires. Sangakkara had made 32 in the first innings of the second Test against India and came out early to bat in the second session.
He said that every player wants to sign off on a high note but that was not possible in his case.
While addressing a news conference after the host lost the Test match, Lankan great said that while walking back it had hit him that this was his last match.
“The moment I got out, it was the usual disappointment and frustration is there because my job was to try and stay there till the end of the day. But when I was walking off and all the Indian players came and shook my hand, that’s when it hit me, that’s it really? So going back in the dressing room and taking your pads off, it just hits you that that is the last time you will be doing that in national colours,” said an emotional Sangakkara.
He is fifth in the list of highest Test run scorers, while the 14,000-plus runs he scored in 404 one-dayers before quitting the format after this year’s World Cup, places him second in the 50-over list after Sachin Tendulkar. Sangakkara was confident that the team was in good hands and the players will improve with time.“I think the younger generations take their cricket very seriously, they take their commitment very seriously and I know when you are in the dressing room, when you lose, you see the disappointment and the hurt and without a doubt that will drive them on to do much better,” he concluded. Sangakkara made his Test debut 15 years ago as a shy stumper-batsman against South Africa at Galle, entering a dressing room that contained big names, including Arjuna Ranatunga, Sanath Jayasuriya and Muttiah Muralitharan. In Mahela Jayawardene, he soon found a friend. Born five months apart, their partnership on field was often the foundation on which Sri Lanka built their innings.
A law student with a silver tongue, Sangakkara could easily get under the opposition’s skin but the 2012 ICC Cricketer of the Year never crossed the line.
Like Jayawardene, Sangakkara wanted to quit international cricket soon after the World Cup but was urged to stay on, helping the side under Angelo Mathews as they embarked on a tricky transition.
Sangakkara, who has scored 63 international centuries, agreed to play four Tests, two each against Pakistan and India.
His fans desperately wanted him to score one more double century to equal Don Bradman’s record of 12 but that was not to be. Troubled Sri Lanka will play the third and final Test in Colombo starting on Friday (28) and hope to win so as to give Sangakkara something to remember.
Virat Kohli presents Kumar Sangakkara a jersey signed by Indian players, Sri Lanka v India, 2nd Test, P Sara Oval, Colombo, 5th day, August 24, 2015 - AP
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