Sanath Jayasuriya

A destroyer with the bat and a match-turner with the ball, Sanath Jayasuriya has been a revolutionary in Sri Lankan cricket as well as in world cricket. Initially, the staggering allrounder was used as a left-arm spinner who would bat a bit, in the lower-order, whose life transformed when he started opening with Romesh Kaluwitharana. 

Jayasuriya debuted for Sri Lanka in 1989 as a utility player who was moved up the order during the Hero Cup in 1993 and the move worked well for Sri Lanka as Jayasuriya’s blistering batting won the maiden World Cup for the Islander nation. The all-rounder bagged seven crucial wickets, apart from scoring 221 runs in the 1996 World Cup. Jayasuriya was also handed a four-year captaincy hat that ended when Sri Lanka lost the semi-final against Australia in 2003. 

Till then, the Sri Lankan earned the reputation of one of the most dangerous players. He once held the record for the highest score in Tests by a Sri Lankan when he smacked 340 against India in 1997. The opener once again took the Indians on reprimand when he blasted a 161-ball 189 in an ODI game in the final of the Coca-Cola Cup of 2000. 

In 2007, a 38-year-old Jayasuriya decided to exit from the red-ball format to concentrate more on the limited-overs game, after representing his nation in 110 Tests. Apart from featuring in 445 ODIs, the Sri Lankan also played 31 T20s. His powerful skill sets were used by Mumbai Indians for the first three seasons of the Indian Premier League. However, the IPL stints came in the fag-end of the Sri Lankan’s career as he hung up his boots from international cricket in 2011 and ended his tally at 21,032 runs and 440 wickets.

Post his retirement, Jayasuriya engaged himself in politics as he became a Member of Parliament, before being appointed as the Chairman of selectors by the Sri Lankan Cricket Board in 2013. However, the Sri Lankan great was banned for two years for breaching the ICC Anti-Corruption Code in 2019. 

(As of April 2021)