Kumar Sangakkara

Kumar Chokshanada Sangakkara (Sinhala: කුමාර් චොක්ශනාද සංගක්කාර; born 27 October 1977) is a Sri Lankan cricket commentator and former cricketer who represented Sri Lanka from 2000 to 2015. A former captain for Sri Lanka in all formats. Born in Matale, Central Province, Sangakkara played first-class cricket for Nondescripts Cricket Club from 1997–98 to 2013–14 and for Surrey County Cricket Club from 2015 to 2017. He was a key part of the Sri Lankan squads which won the 2001-02 Asian Test Championship, 2002 ICC Champions Trophy and 2014 T20 World Cup.

Sangakkara played mostly as a wicket-keeper-batter and is generally regarded as one of the greatest wicket-keeper-batters in cricket history. His 38 Test centuries and 25 in ODIs are both highest for a wicket-keeper. He batted left-handed and, although he rarely bowled, was a right-arm off spinner. Combining all three forms of international cricket, Sangakkara is the third-highest run-scorer in international cricket, having amassed a total of 28,016 including 63 centuries.

He has received four individual ICC awards. In 2012 he won Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy (ICC Cricketer of the Year) and ICC Test Cricketer of the Year. Also he won ICC ODI Cricketer of the Year twice in 2011 and 2013.

He was named Wisden Leading Men's Cricketer in the World for both 2011 and 2014.

As of July 2025, Sangakkara is one of only 15 players to have scored 10,000 or more runs in Test cricket, and has the highest average of those who have achieved this feat.

Since retirement, he has worked as a commentator for Sky Sports and served as President of the MCC from October 2019 to September 2021. In January 2021, Sangakkara also became the coach of Rajasthan Royals in the Indian Premier League from 2021-2024.He was inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame in June 2021, the second Sri Lankan player to be inducted after Muttiah Muralitharan.