Kumar Sangakkara: Player

“India always seem to be the more mature side in World Cups than Pakistan, no matter how many senior players are there in their squad”

Kumar Sangakkara

Sangakkara on how Pakistan is a better team than India, quoted on Sports.ndtv.com, "Why Pakistan Can Never Beat India in World Cups - Kumar Sangakkara, Sunil Gavaskar Explain" http://sports.ndtv.com/icc-world-twenty20-2016/news/256674-why-pakistan-can-never-beat-india-in-world-cups-kumar-sangakkara-sunil-gavaskar-explain, March 21, 2016.
Context: India always plays a big tournament in a very settled manner. They trust their players and are always consistent in their selection. They always approach a game with a sense of confidence in their abilities and the selection they have made. When it comes to Pakistan, they come to tournaments unsettled, with a lot of controversy and lots of doubts over selection. There seems to be lot of talk even within the team and around the team, even by the management. When it comes to crucial rivalry and the stakes are high, India seems to control their emotion and execute their game-plan. Whenever Pakistan play India, the former seems to be rattled. India always seem to be the more mature side in World Cups than Pakistan, no matter how many senior players are there in their squad.

World

“Sangakkara: It's very important be a good man manager. You need to be able to understand the capabilities of the players. Once you strategise, you need to be able to pick the players to execute them. You also need to ensure people are thinking for themselves because in tough situations, leadership becomes situational where certain players step up to lead the side with their performance or with a little spark of brilliance. That sometimes makes a captain look good even though that was beyond his control”

Kumar Sangakkara

People , Understanding , Thinking

“Sanga is a knowledgeable player and will be able to motivate the players”

Kumar Sangakkara

Mohan De Silva, the Honorary Secretary, Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC), on Sangakarra joining the Sri Lanka squad in India, quoted on Deccan Chronicle, "Kumar Sangakkara to join Sri Lanka squad in India" http://www.deccanchronicle.com/sports/cricket/160316/icc-world-twenty20-sangakkara-to-join-sri-lanka-squad.html, March 16, 2016.
About

Motivation , Knowledge

“Sangakkara: Being a good captain is about pulling your own weight in the side and making sure you perform. The better you perform, the easier captaincy becomes. It's a nice interesting balance about your own performance and also surrounding yourself with players of quality which makes captaincy the easiest job because you know you have match-winners in your side. You know people can execute whatever's asked of them. So decision-making becomes very easy. Take Ricky Ponting and the Aussie side that he had under him for a few years. Hard decisions were very rare because you just had to look at your team and knew exactly what they were capable of.”

Kumar Sangakkara

People , Decision

“I think he is one of the greatest, without a doubt. He is one of the game's terrific players and I wish him best for the future”

Kumar Sangakkara

Former Australia wicketkeeper Adam Gilchrist has called Kumar Sangakkara a terrific player, quoted on sports.ndtv, "Kumar Sangakkara Was a Terrific Player, Says Adam Gilchrist" http://sports.ndtv.com/sri-lanka-vs-india-2015/news/247481-kumar-sangakkara-was-a-terrific-player-says-adam-gilchrist, August 24, 2015.
About

Game , Thinking , Future

“You would always prefer to give back to your own country first but the way Mahela conducted himself as a player for Sri Lanka over the years has been exemplary”

Kumar Sangakkara

Kumar Sangakkara on Mahela as a coaching consultant for England, quoted on The Guardian, "Kumar Sangakkara: England made smart move on mentor Mahela Jayawardene" http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2016/mar/13/kumar-sangakkara-england-mahela-jayawardene-world-twenty20-sri-lanka, March 13, 2016.

Way , Country