Sangakkara To Retire After India Test Series In August

The World Cup will also be another former skipper Mahela Jayawardene’s last international assignment, and the pair’s departure will leave a big hole in Sri Lanka’s batting.

“It’s a bit archaic to think that senior players only have so much to give. You play your best cricket for your country and do the best for your side and sometimes young players don’t need as much help as people think they do. They need a little bit of freedom, a bit of love, a bit of care, and they’ll perform very well,” Sangakkara said.

The players earmarked to step into their shoes are Lahiru Thirimanne, a left-hander like Sangakkara, and Dinesh Chandimal.

“Whatever they need to learn, most of them will ask and learn, or watch and learn, they’ll have a chat with you. But whatever you have to offer might not be of benefit to a younger player.

“Maybe they need something else, maybe they are good enough and their perspectives are better than yours. Learning is a two-way street, you learn from them as well as young players learning from you,” he said.

“The best thing as a senior cricketer you can do is to hold your place in the side and pull your own weight and score runs if you’re a batsman, and if you are a bowler do the job that’s required of you.

“That’s the best way you can help the team or any youngster. As long as you are there and you are doing something useful, they’ll benefit.”

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