Sanath Jayasuriya is no new name to cricket. After rising to fame in 1996 World Cup, the Sri Lankan left-hander has been one of the best players in contemporary cricket. There are quite a few records in the name of Jayasuriya which make him a legend of the game.
The 37-year-old got yet another milestone on Wednesday. The World Cup Super Eights match against England, the one that his team won by a narrow margin of two runs, was his 385th match – meaning that he has now become the most-capped One-Day International (ODI) player in the world.
That record won’t last long if Indian great Sachin Tendulkar resists the pressure to retire and continue. But that record nevertheless shows Jayasuriya’s passion for the game that has now extended for almost 18 years since he first debuted against Australia in December, 1989.
As an admirer of Jayasuriya, since 1996 World Cup was the first I watched seriously, what I love most about the man is not his style of play or even his records. I love the way he changed himself as a player during the course of his cricket career. He was a slow left-arm bowler (the first Sri Lankan to reach 100 ODI wickets) who could bat a little. If you have a copy of 1991 Wisden Almanac, there is a short paragraph about him which tells you that he is a player to watch.
From 1989 to 1995, he played as a bowler, hitting out a few fours and sixes with his strong arms in the later part of the innings. Then in early 1996, coach Dav Whatmore and captain Arjuna Ranatunga devised an idea and used him and Romesh Kaluwitharana as the pinch-hitting openers. Jayasuriya not only proved good in that but also changed his otherwise ordinary career.
I remember during late 1997 Indian great Sunil Gavaskar talking in an ESPN show on how to restrict Jayasuriya. Jayasuriya was at his peak as a pinch-hitter. He wasn’t, and isn’t, the man whose video could be used to teach batting, but he succeeded due to his love for game.
And then he realized that it was tough to survive at top with only the hitting prowess and tightened his defense. His 340 against India in Test was an amazing feat because not many believed at that time that he could bat for such a long time.
He continues to play for the love of game and even after being called back from retirement, he had wonderful year of 2006 and 2007 looks to be memorable as well. I know the current Nepal’s coach Roy Dias is one of his mentors, and Dias has mentioned it on a few occasions (and that makes me like him more).
I believe Jayasuriya’s love for the game won’t allow him to go away from cricket and he may turn a coach. Who knows he may be a coach of Nepal?
(As published in The Kathmandu Post)