All posts tagged: kumar sangakkara

‘I am going to hit 13 sixes now…’: Sangakkara recalls Sooryavanshi’s declaration | Cricket News

‘I am going to hit 13 sixes now…’: Sangakkara recalls Sooryavanshi’s declaration | Cricket News

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4 min readUpdated: Jun 27, 2026 02:58 PM IST World champions India suffered its first ever loss to Ireland in the first T20I on Friday evening and all the talk prior to the match was whether Vaibhav Sooryavanshi will make his international debut or not. Though the 15-year-old did not make it to the final XI, the teenage sensation is expected to make his international debut at some point during this tour or the subsequent one in England. Sooryavanshi had amassed 776 runs in 16 innings this IPL at a strike rate of 237.30 in this year’s IPL and Former Sri Lanka captain and now the head coach and director of cricket at Rajasthan Royals, Kumar Sangakkara has shared how the young Indian prodigy told his Royals’ teammates Donovan Ferreira and Lhuan-dre Pretorius about hitting 13 sixes during a tough run-chase against Lucknow Super Giants this IPL season. “This year, we were playing the Lucknow Super Giants. We had to chase 220 (221) to win the game and stay in the competition. We fielded first. …

RR head coach Sangakkara blasts Sam Curran for skipping IPL 2026 season

RR head coach Sangakkara blasts Sam Curran for skipping IPL 2026 season

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3 min readMay 30, 2026 09:51 AM IST After his team’s IPL 2026 exit with a defeat to the Gujarat Titans in the Qualifier 2 match on Friday, Rajasthan Royals head coach Kumar Sangakkara slammed English all-rounder Sam Curran for skipping the two-month-long tournament on the pretext of an injury. Curran, who was part of a trade deal with Chennai Super Kings ahead of the season, was roped in for Rs 2.4 crore alongside Ravindra Jadeja in exchange for Sanju Samson. However, with the Englishman conveying his unavailability thereafter, RR roped in Sri Lankan all-rounder Dasun Shanaka as his replacement. Sangakkara, however, said it was disappointing to see Curran turn up for his county side Surrey later on. “We were told that Sam Curran had a season-ending injury, but I think I saw him playing for Surrey for two or three games now, so that was disappointing,” Sangakkara told reporters in Mullanpur after RR’s seven-wicket defeat. “We’d have loved to have had him here playing for us, but we got Dasun Shanaka as a replacement …

‘Jadeja’s been nursing injury’: Sangakkara on all-rounder’s limited batting role | Cricket News

‘Jadeja’s been nursing injury’: Sangakkara on all-rounder’s limited batting role | Cricket News

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A major talking point ahead of the IPL 2026 auction was the high-profile transfer of Sanju Samson from RR to CSK, in exchange for Ravindra Jadeja and Sam Curran. However, despite the inaugural champions making it to the Playoffs, Jadeja’s performances have not created the impact the franchise would have hoped for, especially with the bat, where he has been used lower down the order. Head coach Kumar Sangakkara revealed that the 37-year-old had been nursing an injury, and the team had to manage him. “He’s been nursing an injury. And we’ve had to manage him quite sensitively. So for him to go out and bat for long periods of time, it puts a lot of pressure on him, a lot of stress on him. So until he gets maybe another two days of rest, then we can use him even better,” Sangakkara said in the post-match presentation. The comments come a few days after India’s chief selector Ajit Agarkar said that Jadeja was given a rest and hence not picked for the one-off Test …

Sangakkara backs Jaiswal to rediscover his best as Rajasthan Royals eye IPL 2026 playoff push

Sangakkara backs Jaiswal to rediscover his best as Rajasthan Royals eye IPL 2026 playoff push

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4 min readNew DelhiMay 16, 2026 09:48 PM IST In the last three weeks, their rivals have gathered steam or unravelled altogether. The Rajasthan Royals have been doing neither — two appearances on the field, two defeats, and a fortnight of enforced stillness in between. The extended breaks have been unkind. After the bowlers’ profligate returns undid a 225-run defence against Delhi Capitals, the batters imploded in a similarly hefty chase against Gujarat Titans in Jaipur. More of the same, and their playoff hopes begin to narrow. RR head coach Kumar Sangakkara knows it. Speaking on Saturday, he stressed the immediate need for balance — for the unit and its lead anchors. He threw his weight behind out-of-form captain Riyan Parag and his deputy Yashasvi Jaiswal, even as both have endured a lean run of late. The league standings have shifted considerably around them, but Rajasthan’s playoff hopes remain intact. Starting Sunday against Delhi at the Feroz Shah Kotla, their top-four chances are in their own hands — three matches lined up against sides that …

‘Unko chhodke puri duniya bol rahi thi’: Vaibhav Sooryavanshi reveals chat with RR coaches before 15-ball fifty | Cricket News

‘Unko chhodke puri duniya bol rahi thi’: Vaibhav Sooryavanshi reveals chat with RR coaches before 15-ball fifty | Cricket News

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3 min readUpdated: Mar 31, 2026 09:58 AM IST Days after he turned 15, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi ensured that his IPL initiation last season was anything but a fluke as he pulverised Chennai Super Kings at the Barsapara Stadium in Guwahati on Monday. Opening the batting in his second season for the Rajasthan Royals in a 128-run chase, the swashbuckling left-handed batter razed down the Chennai bowling within the Powerplay. Having received an early reprieve from a drop from CSK’s Kartik Sharma, Sooryavanshi sped to a 15-ball half-century, the joint-third fastest IPL fifty. While he eventually fell on 52 off 17 deliveries on the back of five sixes and four fours, Sooryavanshi had all but sealed the chase. Rajasthan cruised past the target in 13 overs with eight wickets to spare. “The plan today was simply to execute well in the Powerplay. Initially, the wicket felt a bit sticky, but as the ball got older, it started coming onto the bat nicely,” Sooryavanshi told broadcasters after the win. ALSO READ | Rajasthan Royals pace battery demolishes …

‘Read this before you go out to bat’

‘Read this before you go out to bat’

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3 min readUpdated: Mar 18, 2026 05:24 PM IST Former Sri Lanka skipper and one of the greatest left-handed batters the world has ever seen, Kumar Sangakkara, recently narrated an intriguing story about the time an abrupt fax from his father, Kshema Sangakkara, sent him into a panic while he was on tour in Australia. “I was in Australia once, playing a Test match, and I was woken up very early in the morning. The hotel reception called and said, ‘There’s an urgent fax.’ And I got up in a panic… thinking someone was ill or something had happened,” Sangakkara said on the High Performance Podcast on YouTube. “I was worried about my parents, and then I stopped and thought, in the age of mobile phones, who in the hell would send a fax? And I immediately knew it was my father. It had to be my father. So I said, please send it up, and they did. There were four A4 sheets tucked into it. I took it out, and it was just a …

Kumar Sangakkara laments Sri Lanka doing ‘same things over and over’ after T20 World Cup exit, issues ominous warning | Cricket News

Kumar Sangakkara laments Sri Lanka doing ‘same things over and over’ after T20 World Cup exit, issues ominous warning | Cricket News

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3 min readFeb 26, 2026 06:21 PM IST Sri Lanka’s ouster from the race for the semifinal of the 2026 T20 World Cup was confirmed on Wednesday when they lost to New Zealand by 61 runs at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo. It was met with widespread anger from fans at the stadium and former captain and batting great Kumar Sangakkara said that Sri Lanka could slip into “irrelevance” in world cricket if they don’t course correct. “There is a lot of hurt all round,” said Sangakkara in his post. “The fans devastated , disappointed , angry. The players are hurting badly too. I have been in similar dressing rooms. It’s not easy. But this responsibility comes with the turf. It’s a burden and a great privilege to represent your country and your people. There is a lot of work to be done at all levels to course correct. We can’t do the same things over and over and expect different results when the cricket world around us has evolved so quickly. We haven’t …

Virat Kohli misses ton but joins forces with Shubman Gill, Shreyas Iyer to guide India to victory over New Zealand | Cricket News

Virat Kohli misses ton but joins forces with Shubman Gill, Shreyas Iyer to guide India to victory over New Zealand | Cricket News

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Virat Kohli missed out on a century by just seven runs but was instrumental in guiding India home to a four-wicket victory over New Zealand at Vadodara. Kohli scored his 93 in just 91 balls with handy contributions from captain Shubman Gill (56) and Shreyas Iyer (49) as India chased down a target of 301 with one over remaining. India thus take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series. FOLLOW: India vs New Zealand 1st ODI Live Score Updates Kohli smashed eight fours and one six during his magnificent innings to help India overhaul the target. The game saw Kohli become the fastest batter to reach 28,000 runs, in the process breaking Sachin Tendulkar’s record as he needed 20 innings lesser than Tendulkar to get to the milestone. Kohli joined an exclusive club of batters which includes Sachin Tendulkar and Kumar Sangakkara. For New Zealand, Kyle Jamieson returned with fine figures of 4 for 41 from his 10 overs, while Adithya Ashok and Kristian Clarke got one wicket each. ALSO READ | STATS: Virat Kohli …

STATS: Virat Kohli becomes fastest batter to reach 28,000 runs, breaks Sachin Tendulkar’s record | Cricket News

STATS: Virat Kohli becomes fastest batter to reach 28,000 runs, breaks Sachin Tendulkar’s record | Cricket News

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Virat Kohli continued his rampaging pursuit of breaking milestones as he reached 28,000 international runs during the first ODI against New Zealand in Vadodara on Sunday. He got the milestone by walloping a ball from Adithya Ashok past the New Zealand spinner. The 37-year-old Kohli completed 28,000 runs across all formats, joining an exclusive club of batters which includes Sachin Tendulkar and Kumar Sangakkara. FOLLOW: India vs New Zealand 1st ODI Live Score Updates Kohli broke Tendulkar’s record to become the fastest batter to reach 28,000 runs in only his 624th* innings since his international debut in 2008. Tendulkar had reached the landmark during his 644th innings while Sangakkara crossed the feat in his 666th innings. In February 2023, Kohli became the fastest batter to reach 25,000 runs, achieving the mark in 549 innings, 28 innings quicker than Tendulkar. In October 2023, Kohli went past 26,000 runs as the quickest to the landmark, again bettering Tendulkar by 13 innings. A year later, in September 2024, he leapt to 27,000 runs in his 59th innings. Kohli …

IPL 2026: Kumar Sangakkara reappointed as Rajasthan Royals head coach | Cricket News

IPL 2026: Kumar Sangakkara reappointed as Rajasthan Royals head coach | Cricket News

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Rajasthan Royals have reappointed Sri Lanka legend Kumar Sangakkara as the team’s head coach ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 season, the inaugural champions confirmed on Monday. Sangakkara, who served in the role between 2021 and 2024, was promoted to director of cricket role last year. He will now take over the head coach position from Rahul Dravid who completed the IPL 2025 season in his second stint at the helm of the Jaipur-based franchise. During his first tenure as coach, Sangakkara ended the Royals’ 17-year wait to reach another final. They, however, finished runners-up behind Gujarat Titans. Story continues below this ad Rajasthan Royals lead Owner Manoj Badale appreciated Sangakkara’s influence on the franchise ahead of his return in a more involved position next season. “We are delighted to have Kumar return as Head Coach. His familiarity within the squad, his leadership and deep understanding of the Royals culture bring the right balance of continuity and stability,” Badale said. “Kumar has always had our complete trust as a leader. His clarity, calmness …