Kumar Sangakkara — Sri Lanka's Greatest Batter and Wicketkeeper
Kumar Sangakkara is the second-highest run-scorer in Test cricket after Sachin Tendulkar. Learn about the Sri Lankan legend's 12-year dominance, four consecutive ODI centuries, and his final World Cup campaign.
Kumar Chokshanada Sangakkara (born 1977, Matale, Sri Lanka) is Sri Lanka's greatest cricketer and the second-highest run-scorer in Test match history with 12,400 Test runs at an average of 57.40. In 404 ODI innings, he scored 14,234 runs at 41.98. Sangakkara was a left-handed batsman who combined elegant technique with extraordinary consistency, performing at the highest level across 16 years of international cricket. He is widely rated the best wicketkeeper-batsman in cricket history, combining keeping duties with elite batting throughout his career.
Four consecutive World Cup centuries
Sangakkara's crowning achievement came at the 2015 ICC Cricket World Cup when he scored four consecutive centuries — in successive matches against Bangladesh, England, Australia, and Scotland. This is the only instance in World Cup history of a batter scoring four consecutive centuries in the tournament. Despite the individual brilliance, Sri Lanka were eliminated in the quarterfinals. Sangakkara's 2015 World Cup, played in Australia and New Zealand, was his farewell tournament. He was 37 and retiring from ODIs at the end of the competition.
Partnership with Jayawardene
Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene formed one of the greatest batting partnerships in Test history. Together they shared 17 century partnerships in Tests and consistently anchored Sri Lanka's batting for over a decade. Both batters combined right at the top of the world Test rankings simultaneously — a rarity for a non-dominant cricketing nation. Their partnership record for the third wicket (624* — against South Africa, 2006) is a world record for any wicket in Test cricket.
County Cricket and the final chapter
After retiring from international cricket in 2015, Sangakkara played county cricket for Surrey in England, setting the record for most consecutive centuries in English first-class cricket with five in a row (surpassing W.G. Grace's 120-year-old record). He served as President of the MCC (Marylebone Cricket Club) in 2019-20 — the first non-British or non-Irish person elected to the position in the club's 232-year history, a profound statement of cricket's globalisation.
Frequently asked questions
How many Test runs did Sangakkara score?
Kumar Sangakkara scored 12,400 Test runs at an average of 57.40 in 134 Tests — the second-highest tally in Test history behind Sachin Tendulkar (15,921). He scored 38 Test centuries. Sangakkara also held the world record third-wicket partnership in Tests (624* with Jayawardene vs South Africa in 2006).
Did Sangakkara score four centuries in a World Cup?
Yes. Sangakkara scored four consecutive centuries in the 2015 ICC Cricket World Cup — against Bangladesh, England, Australia, and Scotland. This is the only instance in World Cup history of a batter scoring centuries in four successive matches. Sri Lanka were still eliminated in the quarterfinals despite Sangakkara's extraordinary individual form.
Was Sangakkara a wicketkeeper?
Yes. Sangakkara kept wicket throughout much of his career, combining elite wicketkeeping with elite batting — a combination that has led many cricket historians to rate him as the greatest wicketkeeper-batsman in history. He kept wicket in 150+ Tests while also averaging 57.40 as a batsman. Later in his career he focused on batting only.