Sri Lankan great Kumar Sangakkara will quit international cricket during the Test series against India, the island nation's most prolific batsman said on Saturday, says a report in Hindustantimes.
According to the HT report, Sangakarra told reporters that he has decided to call it a day after the second Test of the India series. “The original plan was to retire from all international cricket after the World Cup but... following a discussion with the previous selection committee, I gave my word that I would be available for these two series. But at the same time I said that I would be unable to play six Test matches," he said.
According to a report in The Nation, the left-hander said he will play two of the three Tests against India that will take place in Sri Lanka in August. The exact dates and venues have not yet been announced. Sangakkara, the current world leading Test run-getter, said he will also skip the third and final Test of the ongoing series against Pakistan starting in Pallekele on July 3. "I wanted to retire after the World Cup, but was requested by the selectors to stay on," he said. "I agreed to play four more Tests. I will honour that agreement. I gave my word, so will stand by that."
Sangakkara's 12,305 runs and 38 centuries are the most by any batsman still playing Tests, way above second-placed Alastair Cook of England, who has 9,000 runs and 27 hundreds. The 132-Test veteran may be below record-holder Sachin Tendulkar's Test tally of 15,921 runs and 51 hundreds, but his 11 scores of 200-plus are just one short of Australian legend Don Bradman's record of 12.
