Kumar Sangakkara reveals names of his favourite batsmen, both are from the West Indies

A lot of batsmen who went on to become the greats of the game in the 90s and the 2000s idolised Sir Vivian Richards of the West Indies. Be it Sachin Tendulkar or Brian Lara, Sir Viv was a favourite of them all. Another modern day great, who was a fan of the Caribbean legend is former Sri Lanka skipper and current Marylebone Cricket Club president Kumar Sangakkara.

The elegant left hander, who is among the top international run getters in the world across formats, revealed the two batsmen he grew up admiring during a Q&A session with fans on MCC’s official Twitter channel.

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When asked by a fan to name his favourite batsman of all time, Sangakkara said, “It was Sir Viv Richards up until Brian Lara came around – since then they shared an equal importance on my list.”

He further said that the two West Indian champs were his batting heroes and Sri Lanka’s 1996 World Cup winning campaign inspired him to take up cricket as a profession.

“Sir Viv Richards and Brian Lara were my batting heroes. I’d say the 1996 Sri Lanka World-Cup winning side inspired me to playing international cricket too,” he said.

Sangakkara retired from the game as the second highest run-getter in ODI cricket and he is on the sixth spot in the list highest Test run getters.

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He led Sri Lanka with a lot of success and took them to the final of the 2009 ICC WT20 and the 2011 ICC World Cup. While those two tournaments ended in heartbreaking losses for the island nation, they finally tasted success in the 2014 ICC WT20.

Sangakkara, along with former captain and friend Mahela Jayawardene, are the biggest ambassadors of Sri Lanka cricket globally.

Sangakkara’s appeal beyong teh cricket field landed him the prestigious job of being the president of the MCC, who are seen as the guardians of cricket’s laws and an institution with a rich legacy and tradition. Sangakkara is the first non-British president of the club.

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