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Profile of Sanath Jayasuriya
Full Name: Sanath Teran Jayasuriya
Born: June 30, 1969 in Matara, Sri Lanka
Batting Style Left-handed batsman
Bowling Style Slow left-arm orthodox
Test Debut New Zealand vs. Sri Lanka at Hamilton – February 22-26, 1991
ODI Debut Australia vs. Sri Lanka at Melbourne – December 26, 1989
The star of Sri Lanka’s victory in 1996 World Cup, Sanath Jayasuriya is undoubtedly one of the world’s best all-rounders of all time. An aggressive batsman who can be dangerous on sub-continental pitches, Jayasuriya is Sri Lanka’s highest Test run-getter.
Uncompromising in his strokeplay, Sanath Jayasuriya plays his shots unabashedly, least bothered about a bowler’s reputation. It is this attitude that makes him a delight to watch on the cricket field. Despite being short in stature, Sanath is extremely powerful, as exemplified in his shots all over the ground. However, in due course, the chinks in his batting armor have been exposed; so much so that it has become quite easy to contain him.
Sanath Jayasuriya has lost his Midas touch over the years and is now easily fallible. This is one of the main reasons for his relegation from an opener to a middle order batsman. However, Jayasuriya’s delightful left-arm spin bowling has helped Sri Lanka on many occasions. He has bowled that magic delivery in dire situations, taking Lankans to the threshold of victory.
Sanath Jayasuriya was given the task of captaining Sri Lanka after the sacking of Arjuna Ranatunga. He did not disappoint the selectors, motivating his team to commendable wins, and leading by example. But, he could not sustain the pressures of captaincy for long, and eventually stepped down in April 2003.
Sanath Jayasuriya’s subsequent loss of form made him the most debatable topic in Sri Lankan cricketing circles. He silenced one and all by scoring heavily in 2004, the best of his career.
In 411 one-dayers and 110 Test matches, Sanath Jayasuriya has averages of 32.90 and 40.42 respectively. He also has 39 hundreds to his credit, and is the fourth batsman to join the elite club of batsmen with 10,000-plus runs in ODIs.
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