Kumar Sangakkara

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

Sangakkara was born in Matale, Central Province, the fourth and youngest child of Kshema, a civil lawyer, and Kumari Sangakkara. He was educated at Trinity College, Kandy, where he was a chorister and played the violin. He chose cricket over tennis on the advice of college principal Leonard de Alwis. His three elder siblings all excelled in sports at Trinity: sisters Thushari (basketball) and Saranga (tennis), and brother Vemindra (cricket and badminton). During the Black July riots in 1983, his parents offered shelter to Tamil families.

In Their Own Story

The Hyderabad sun beat down on the Uppal Stadium pitch as Sangakkara adjusted his gloves. The crowd murmured with anticipation; this was the new captain, the man who had conquered the world stage. He walked to the crease, not with aggression, but with a quiet confidence that settled the nerves of his young teammates.

Reader's Guide

Sangakkara made his first-class debut for Nondescripts Cricket Club on 9 January 1998. He made his ODI debut on 5 July 2000 against Pakistan at Galle, scoring 35 and taking a catch. He played for Sri Lanka from 2000 to 2015, amassing 28,016 international runs including 63 centuries. He is the third-highest run-scorer in international cricket and has the highest average among players with 10,000 or more Test runs. He won the Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy and ICC Test Cricketer of the Year in 2012, and ICC ODI Cricketer of the Year in 2011 and 2013. He was named Wisden Leading Men's Cricketer in the World for 2011 and 2014. Since retirement, he has worked as a commentator for Sky Sports, served as President of the MCC from October 2019 to September 2021, and became coach of Rajasthan Royals in the Indian Premier League from 2021 to 2024. He was inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame in June 2021.

Did You Know?

• He is the fourth and youngest child of Kshema, a civil lawyer, and Kumari Sangakkara.
• He has three elder siblings: two sisters (Thushari and Saranga) and one brother (Vemindra).
• He was born in Matale, Central Province, on 27 October 1977.
• He was a chorister and played the violin at Trinity College, Kandy.
• He chose cricket over tennis on the advice of college principal Leonard de Alwis.