Legends like Sangakkara Are Irreplaceable: Jayasuriya

 

Talking about his former teammate, Sangakkara, who retired from international cricket earlier in the week, former Sri Lankan captain Sanath Jayasuriya said that legends like him are irreplaceable.

“You can’t replace people like Kumar Sangakkara, Tillekaratne Dilshan and Mahela Jayawardene. It takes time to play cricket sans the great players who have retired. But when people retire, we have got to keep faith on youngsters like at present we have Lahiru Thirimanne, Dinesh Chandimal. You have got to keep patience with them and they will deliver.

“So be patient and keep going forward. We will have to work hard and players like Angleo Mathews, Chandimal and Thirimanne need to take more responsibility, that’s what cricket is all about,” he stated.

With the series evenly poised, Jayasuriya predicted a sporting track for the third Test at SSC.

“It’s a tough series to call. Very difficult to predict the outcome of the third Test match but rest assured that both the sides will play quality cricket and give it their all. SSC has a very good pitch

“It has a bit more bounce and spins later on. But I haven’t seen the wicket of late. We always prepare a sporting wicket, so expect a good Test match,” he said.

The 46-year-old former all-rounder lauded Virat Kohli for his leadership qualities in his initial days as Test skipper. “He (Virat Kohli) is doing well. He has just started out. He needs to spend a little bit more time with the players. He will learn everyday. But given by what we have seen till now, he has good leadership skills,” he said.

Jayasuriya though didn’t read too much into the five-bowler theory and termed it as just a conditional strategy.

“Well, five-bowler theory and all depends on the kind of wicket you are playing on. It also depends on what a captain wants and he (Virat) is playing according to the situation. So if one wants to play five bowlers, he will back them and it’s also tells about a captain’s confidence in his players,” he said.

“You got to have experienced players to help you out like the coach and the management. So sometimes you go in five, sometimes with four bowlers. There are lot of permutations and combinations you can go in with but only when you settle down as a player. Risk-taking factor increases with the maturity level of a player,” he added.

(PTI)