Sri Lanka v India Test Series Preview: World's greatest wicket-keeper batsman relishes fiery series

Sri Lanka Cricket / Andrew Hughes / 21 July 2008 / Leave a Comment

Despite a likely draw on the flat, slow Colombo pitch, Kumar Sangakkara will be taking it to the Indian attack.

With the retirement of Adam Gilchrist, Kumar Sangakkara has assumed the mantle of best wicket-keeper batsman in the world. Though his outings behind the stumps in the five day game have been few and far between in the last couple of years, he is still the regular keeper in limited overs cricket. Whether he will be able to continue that role when he replaces his great friend Mahela Jayawardene as captain is debatable. He has admitted that he is fresher as a batsman when not wearing the gloves and the stats seem to bear it out. He averages 40.48 when the designated keeper but a startling 88.52 when not.

Though in his batting, he appears to have something of the ease of David Gower, his rise to prominence has not been inevitable. He arrived in international cricket as an attacking batsman with a preference for back foot shots, a tendency to play one too many strokes and slightly ragged glove work. Years of hard work, combined with an enquiring mind have enabled him to improve his technique, to expand his repertoire of strokes and to learn the art of building long innings. And countless hours of keeping to Murali have sharpened his skills behind the stumps to the point where he is arguably the best in the world, certainly when it comes to standing up to the spinners and even to the medium pace of Vaas. Neat and unfussy, he has taken some spectacular catches on both sides of the wicket.

More square on now than he used to be, as a batsman, he is almost the complete player. A short backlift gives the impression of minimal effort behind his onside shots and gives his offside play a tidy, concise air, particularly his uppish drives through cover off the back foot which invariably end with him leaving his bat in position for a second or two, a statement of control and intent. His voracious appetite for runs and ability to accumulate big scores has been a major factor in his rise to the top of the ICC batting rankings and coming in at first wicket down is the perfect position for him to take the attack to the bowling side.

He was tipped as a future captain almost as soon as he came into the side and nothing has happened since then to change that impression. As it happens, there are few other suitable candidates to replace Jayawardene, but in any case, Sangakkara's credentials appear impeccable. An eloquent speaker, he has a sharp tactical brain and is of great help to his captain in the field, whether he is keeping wicket or not. That he has been studying law at the same time as forging a Test career is well known, as well as the fact that he takes an interest in the wider issues of the game, its history and complexities.

However, a Sangakkara captaincy is likely to be a little different to Jayawardene's more relaxed style. For a start, he is a combative personality, more outspoken on the field than Jayawardene and quite prepared to wind the opposition up with a few well-placed words. He has got under the skin of many touring teams, not least England in 2000 and 2003 and though his personal sledging style tends towards the subtle and psychological, he is more than capable of trading earthier abuse if provoked.

Indeed, both Sri Lanka and their next opponents India give as good as they get on the field and this Test series could well be a fiery one. Sri Lanka is never an easy place to tour and that is reflected in India's odds of [4.3] to win the First Test in Colombo. Sri Lanka are [3.1] perhaps on the back of the failure of the Indian batsmen to read their new mystery bowler Ajantha Mendis in the recent Asian Cup Final. But Mendis will have his work cut out at Colombo, the most placid of featherbeds. It is a pitch that starts flat and slow and barely deteriorates, which explains why the draw is overwhelming favourite at [1.84]. Don't expect it to get much higher.