Published: Aug 25, 2015, 06:01 PM (IST)
Edited: Aug 25, 2015, 06:01 PM (IST)
Former Sri Lanka captain and long time friend of Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene felt that the wicketkeeper-batsman has prepared himself for retirement. In his column for Times of India, “It’s been a pretty emotion all, and sad, day for Sri Lankan fans. Kumar has been an icon for cricket in our country for so many years and an ambassador of the game on and off the field. That is what the people came out to pay tribute to on Monday. It is a big loss for the team despite the fact that it was inevitable that he would leave the game one day. But I think they have prepared themselves, and I see this as a great opportunity for some of the young players to come through and establish themselves.
“Kumar has prepared quite well for life after retirement. I think he will miss that dressing room more than anything else, but at the same time he is going to be quite busy with all the other things which are going to come his way, and he will still have a role to play in the game in whichever way he chooses to. And he will get to spend more time with the family that’s very important to him. It’s been a fantastic trip for both of us going through international cricket for almost 16 years, and having that friendship, one that we continue to have. I don’t have any big message for him; safe to say that it was an incredible journey, and now it’s time for him to enjoy life in a different way. I wish him all the very best.”
Speaking about second Test, Jayawardene wrote, “Coming to the match, having lost the toss — which was probably crucial — and bowling first, I thought we had a great start. Then we dropped a couple of chances which led to the Indians garnering a big score. I firmly believe that we lost the game in our first innings. The wicket was in a better condition then and if we had showed a bit more intent, like Angelo did, we would likely have got close to the Indian total. The Indians then pretty much batted us out of the game in their second. It was just saddening to see how our boys batted on Monday; I didn’t think they showed much fight but [Ravichandran] Ashwin and [Amit] Mishra bowled really well.”
“Our guys need to be more consistent and we need to look into better starts upfront. Angelo will feel a bit under pressure being the premier batsmen now going forward, but I think he will relish the challenge,” concluded Jayawardene.
