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Kumar Sangakkara, who recently announced his retirement from T20 internationals, said today that he would retire from ODIs after the 2015 ICC World Cup, which will be held in New Zealand and Australia. His decision to retire has been termed by the veteran as “natural progression”.
“As far as ODI and Test cricket are concerned, it’s hard to make a time frame. I am 36 years old now and will be 37 next year during the time of World Cup. By next World Cup, I will be 41 and I don’t hope that I am playing then. So 2015 World Cup will be my last. It’s a a kind of natural progression,” Sangakkara said in an interaction on Monday, according to NDTV.
Sangakkara also hinted that his stay in Test cricket too may not last long. “For Test cricket, form, fitness and enjoyment factors are there for you to continue. There is no denying I am in the twilight of my career,” he said.
He thanked his fans on Twitter and hoped for a new start for Sri Lankan cricket:
Earlier today, Sangakkara’s partner on the field in many memorable innings, Mahela Jayawardene too announced his retirement from T20 Internationals. ICC tweeted from its official account the big news:
Talking about the future of Sri Lankan cricket, Sangakkara was quick to suggest that Lahiru Thirimanne and Dinesh Chandimal are more than capable to carry on the legacy of him and Mahela.
“I think it’s going to be fine. If you look at Thirimanne and Chandimal, they are ready to play in any form of cricket. I think that if me and Mahela decide to quit today, tomorrow or whenever we do, it’s not going to make a huge difference.
“Angelo Mathews is maturing as the Test and ODI captain. Dinesh is also a young captain. Sri Lankan cricket is in very good hands,” said the man who has played 122 Tests, 369 ODIs besides 50 T20 Internationals.
Sangakkara also said that withstanding the rigours of international cricket for a longer duration of time is the key to success.
“The key is to refine the talent and make the players ready to withstand the pressures of international cricket. And it’s not just for one or two years but for longer periods,” he said.
Sangakkara added that although he has quit T20 internationals, but that doesn’t mean that he will not be participating in franchise based T20s, as the financial considerations of such can’t be ruled out.
“Firstly, I enjoy the format and that’s very important. Secondly, cricket is how I make my living and hopefully that would not change for a couple of years. I know a lot of people say that that’s how (T20 leagues) cricketers make their living but that is what the case is. We are professional cricketers,” he said.
Sanga also highlighted that it was an easy decision to quit T20 internationals, as Sri Lanka will hardly be playing T20′s till the 2015 World Cup.
“It wasn’t too difficult really. There are no significant T20 tournaments in the near future. I think we will play just one or two T20 international games until the 2015 World Cup. Whether I would have announced it or not, this would have been my last T20 international tournament. You always hope that the day when you retire never comes but that day definitely comes,” he said with a smile.
The 36-year-old also credited IPL for popularising the game.
“With IPL, everyone knew that T20 is here to stay. The format has created a new fan base and ICC has also done their bit to promote it.”
Sri Lanka have had a tough time in the finals of Word Cups, having played two out of the four World T20 finals, having lost both of them. They have also contested the last two 50-over World Cup finals, again being on the losing side on both occasions.
“In 2007, in South Africa, we were pretty raw but to reach the final in 2009 (England) was great. In 2012, at home again, we reached the finals but let it slip. I think in the two finals, we made enough mistakes to let it slip,” he said.
Sangakkara added, “14 years is a long time in international cricket. You share the dressing room with a very rare group of players. These are the best memories that you can walk away with.”
However, according to Lahiru Thirimanne winning the World T20 would be the best parting gift for Sangakkara.
“It is very difficult to match Sanga or Mahela’s record. It will be a great gift if we could win the World T20 for Sanga,” Thirimanne said.
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