Sangakkara on how growing up in Kandy shaped his cricket style | Atherton Meets Sangakkara | Part 1

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Michael Atherton chats with Kumar Sangakkara - one of the greatest players of the modern era - and also recognised as one of the brightest, most perceptive and most interesting characters in the game.
In part 1 of Mike's chat with Kumar, they discuss:
- How the influence of his father instilled a strong work ethic in him during his childhood
- Growing up in Kandy and how the conditions shaped him as a cricketer, including his time at Trinity College with Mahela Jayawardene, a schoolboy prodigy
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[@sharmapratyush007]

Sangakkara deserves more than 10 minutes.

[@skysportscricket]

We agree! There's two more parts of this interview to come!

[@mellowmonsoon278]

But Atherton doesn’t deserve more than 10 minutes of Sanga’s time

[@yasirupulukkody1470]

@@skysportscricket please make it big, listening to Sanga and his wisdom is always fascinating.

[@CricketTube9905]

Sanga's father played hockey for zahira college matale, not for Anthony's kandy. He's the fifth graduate of zahira college matale.

[@gautamvishwanatham7512]

@@skysportscricket please let us know when those two parts are uploaded

[@nitinb3758]

So refreshing to see a sportsman who is so articulate, well-read and perceptive. Sanga is a class apart!

[@cheesemccheese5780]

@That SriLankanGuy Imran Khans a bad person though.

[@zizoucris10]

"Just because of like or dislike, I think we miss a lot of opportunities rather than really investing some time in seeing something through" - amazing line

[@kishanvisram]

Great Line...

[@muhammadraffay6699]

yeah so true hit me so hard.

[@maddenjulio4054]

a trick : watch movies on Flixzone. Me and my gf have been using it for watching a lot of movies these days.

[@neilwilder6744]

@Madden Julio Yup, I have been watching on Flixzone} for years myself =)

[@Cidloverr]

I will always select him as my Best Wicketkeeper batsman in both Test and ODI format for best team XI ahead of Gilchrist and Dhoni anyday.

[@robbiewales3007]

If there is one cricketer outside of Australia that I liked watching it was Sri Lankan wicket keeper-batsman Kumar Sangakara

[@Ayyaz711]

What a player he was. Most double hundreds by ANY player behind Don Bradman

[@evilvoldemort123]

Really was. He was 199* in one game and he thought he made the double and started celebrating, but then realised it too late when 9th man on the other side got RUN OUT the next ball. The whole team was out and he was 199 not out. Could've matched Bradman's record so close

[@xscorpio290]

@@evilvoldemort123 And also once he was given a wrong decision by Rudy when he was in 192 And also in some occasions as well thanks to that he has the most 190+ scores(15) in the history even more than Bradman

[@user-jn9rj7km9o]

@@chamalsr4470 Yea man and could've equaled Bradman's 12 200s He just needed 1 more and god knows why he retired so early he was just 3 50s away from equaling Tendulkar in ODIs and 1 200 away from Bradman in Tests when even greats like Tendulkar who played 100 more inns , who played till age weared him down has only 6 200s it's that tough of a challenge and this guy retired when he was the best form of his life with so many records hanging 🤷🏻‍♂️

[@osmo261]

The way Sangakkara talks is amazing. You can listen to him talk about things for hours cause he is gonna say some serious words that will change something within you. This one line , "Just because of like or dislike, I think we miss a lot of opportunities rather than really investing some time in seeing something through", shows how he values things in life.

[@Secdem]

Sanga was like the Rolls Ryce of cricket.

[@Beekay_HQ]

Soumil with fake accent?

[@Secdem]

@@Beekay_HQ Oh man common! He batted with a bat, not with his accent, fake or not.

[@Beekay_HQ]

Soumil the irony:

[@neilchandana5891]

His accent is better than most the cricketers!

[@xscorpio290]

@@Beekay_HQ Fake accent ??? bruh he speaks sinhala and English both really well he was a lawyer ffs ,speaking good english even tho he's from an Asian country doesn't mean its a fake accent 😂 he's speaking skills are really good and he got huge props for his Colin cowdrey Lecture for the clever use of literature and his good speaking skills maybe one of the reasons why he became the First Non-British President of MCC(Lord's Cricket Club)

[@naveenaponso4643]

The most underrated captain ever. Even Ricky Ponting has selected him as the captain in his greatest all time 11.

[@ajeebdastaaan396]

I consider Mahela Jayawardene a better captain than him.

[@naveenaponso4643]

@@ajeebdastaaan396 No doubt Mahela is a masterminded captain but Sanga didn't have enough chances to prove his captaincy skills. Also Sanga's captaincy stats are better than Mahela.

[@KP-uj1iq]

@@naveenaponso4643 I have seen 2011 WC when sanga couldn't control the game when MS came in to bat , mahela imo would have been a little more proactive

[@baronharkonnen7894]

@@KP-uj1iq by the time MS came to bat, the world cup was already won.

[@rakshithnayak1206]

@@baronharkonnen7894 stupid ms won world cup

[@noclickbaitrecipes7565]

This shows the importance of a strong father figure in a young boy's life.

[@keithprothero9614]

I have had the pleasure of meeting Kumar and his lovely family a few times,and can confirm he is the most modest unassuming and interesting person . A real gentleman who is a great ambassador for the game and his country

[@fai3379]

Where are you from ?

[@user-jn9rj7km9o]

For those who dont know he was the U16 Tennis Champion in SL

[@БиггиСмолс-ю6ь]

No he wasnt you idiot, his sister was

[@user-jn9rj7km9o]

pofigin pofiginov He was u fckin idiot his sister was a multiple time champion (won the 'main' womens title consecutively for 5 years ) Sanga played Tennis prior to Cricket and Started Cricket in 16/17 and he was even the U16 Tennis champions thats an additional fact which wasn’t in this segment that’s why I said ‘For those who dont know’

[@user-jn9rj7km9o]

pofigin pofiginov Plus he has even represented Sri Lanka at junior levels in Badminton and Tennis as well

[@xscorpio290]

@@БиггиСмолс-ю6ь Dude seriously gets your facts straight before calling someone an idiot He has even played Swimming , Table Tennis but Represented Sri Lanka in badminton and tennis in junior levels....crazy guy imagine being able to represent the country in 3 Major Sports

[@БиггиСмолс-ю6ь]

Where did you find out that he was Sri Lankan under 16 tennis champion? There is no info on the internet confirming your false claim dumbass

[@avinashbhogun]

Fascinating individual. Keep the videos coming Sky.

[@mikefriend1514]

Absolute gentleman. Loved watching him bat. Could now happily listen to him for hours.

[@mellowmonsoon278]

You learn patience from the horrible traffic in Kandy

[@RandomGuy-co7rq]

man, u need to visit Bangalore!

[@mellowmonsoon278]

@@RandomGuy-co7rq I've seen the worst in the world in Dhaka :)

[@sammy60004]

kandy is one hour away from my home town. it's actually not that bad.

[@mellowmonsoon278]

Samitha Rathnayake is your hometown Katugastota or Peradeniya? 😂

[@isuruherath9911]

@@mellowmonsoon278 Haha this is accurate!

[@maazmustafa2322]

Isn't Kumar's dad a bit like all brown or Asian parents lol? I still remember my IGCSE results came out in 2014 - A*'s and A's in 10 subjects but my dad only pointed out to one B in Additional Maths and asked why that was there.. 😂 Massive respect to him for the cricketer he is though!

[@god5535]

LOL! I tried out for Jeopardy! Online test which is known to be difficult. I think I got like 20 or 25 right and felt ok knowing I won't make it. The unspoken passing cut off line is around 37. My mother is all: 25? That's not 50. Then I realized many people do get 50 and only undeniable way to enter the stage is to completely crush it with full grade. Mothers and father ultimately want our best, although it may seem to come off rubbing the wrong way at times. :)

[@HighLordBlazeReborn]

No brown parent would consider bothering with taking up valuable study/revision time with practice sessions for cricket

[@oneasiaworld4609]

Sanga is the reason for my today's personality and I am from his hometown KANDY!

[@sanketdave3086]

The best no.3 world has ever seen!

[@anubhav111196]

Ahead of dravid, ponting and Bradman?

[@aurkomukhopadhyay29]

@@anubhav111196 Yes

[@sathvik.sibyala]

one of the best , yes but not THE best , given viv richards exists

[@damianxavier7343]

@@anubhav111196 he is way better than ponting and Dravid. He is better than Bradman too, except maybe test matches.

[@aneeksaha7068]

Kumar Sangakkara is one of the greatest batsmen ever. Highly underrated, he has one of the highest averages (57) in cricket. He is also a wicketkeeper. Respect from India

[@saifalisaifali712]

one of the greatest player i rated him above sachin lara ponting kalliss all great player .....

[@prishonhsilva7749]

yeah..

[@muhamadarif1498]

we are on the same boat..

[@drjjk-followyourpassion1789]

😂😅

[@s.k.m5898]

😂😂😂

[@xscorpio290]

Yea in Tests was obv better , In ODIs Sachin was a bit better but if you look at the avgs in tough conditions like in Aus , Eng , Nz except SA Sangas avgs are much better

[@russelkleyn2805]

Always a pleasure to listen to your interviews. Articulate and effortless. Bravo man ! You make us feel really proud to be Sri Lankans.!!

[@user-jh6rx1rb1u]

Very eloquent man. Pleasure to listen to. Great knowledge of the game and a fine batsman too

[@tobyeayres6702]

These during lunch breaks: worst thing on earth and takes 12 hours. These now; most entertaining video about

[@santoshnegi5533]

God : tell me about most dumb ass people's on earth Me : people who dislike this interview of such a great person

[@user-jn9rj7km9o]

My All Time Xi Sachin Tendulkar Sanath Jayasuriya Kumar sangakkara(wk) Brian Lara Ricky Ponting(c) Jacques Kallis AB Devilliers Wasim Akram Glenn McGrath Murali Shane Warne

[@truthseeker2095]

You must be an Indian

[@mikea1989]

@@truthseeker2095 maybe Sri Lankan. 1 Indian in the team, 1 Pakistani and 3 Sri Lankans. More Aussies andSouth Africans than Indians too so don't get how you guess Indian from their selection? Plus i'm English and this is close to what i'd have but would have had Hayden over Jayasuriya. This list is more of an indication of when they watched cricket, i'm guessing late 90's to mid 00's

[@footplusballid2470]

@@truthseeker2095 he didn't pick MS Dhoni tho

[@truthseeker2095]

Michael Blake how on earth is sachin flat track bully ahead of Lara???

[@user-jn9rj7km9o]

@@mikea1989 I was born in the 2000s tho 😂 I picked Jayasuriya over Hayden cuz he's a destructive opnener with a higher strike rate decent avg (avg couldve improved if he played more in the powerplay era tho )and even if the wicket falls theres so many star bastmen to carry on I need that quick start(In his time he had the fastest 50,100,150) and the main other reason was he is a wicket taking bowler , 11th highest wicket taker in the world the thing is he takes big wickets tho like if you look at the 96 WC , him and aravinda got the wickets before Murali did Akram,Mcgrath,Murali,Warne can bowl 40 overs and Sanath and Kallis could bowl 5 overs each and if one of em is having a bad day the other could bowl 10

[@awaisb7750]

Sangakkara is a good edition for commentary panel on Sky sports. Although, it is very new journey for him, but he has never given glimpse of immaturaty while commentating. Very professional and disiplane person.

[@hamza3065]

I idelaize Kumar, such a brilliant personality!!!

[@unstopable007]

haha, still remember how these 2 argued at Asgiriya. Sanga was batting and Atherton was at covers or gully... Sanga was the new kid on the block taking on Captain Atherton... cant remember exactly what happened, but im pretty sure Sanga had some cheeky words play. How times have changed!

[@totensrabon1885]

Fascinating player and charecter... Im not even a Srilankan but i always felt he represents whole South Asia!..

[@AjanthaSriramya-nj2rh]

Sanga’s school according to CHAT Gpt. His school also own the Asgiriya International cricket stadium, the only school in the world to do so. Trinity College Kandy is a prestigious private boys' school located in Kandy, Sri Lanka. It was established in 1872 by Anglican missionaries, and it is known for its academic excellence and rich history. Trinity College has a strong tradition in sports, particularly in cricket and rugby, and it has produced many notable alumni who have excelled in various fields.

[@geraldjesudasan7273]

before I view the full video, I clicked the 'Like' button.... & that's only for KS 'The Legend'.

[@lahiruhiran6522]

Such a shame I had to hear such a great interview from an English Channel ❤. We could never expect such a thing from an SL channel. Anyway cheers to Sky Sports for this👌👌

[@dilanperera7313]

මෙහෙ උන්ට ඉතින් සංගා ඉන්න නුඩ්ල්ස් එකයි, මහේල ඉන්න ඇන්කර් එකයි ඇති පලු යන්න බැනල ද්‍රෝහියෝ, රටට විස කවන උන් ගානට දාන්න.. ඇහුවත් අහන්නේ ඔය වගේ දෙයක් තමයි..

[@fai3379]

@@dilanperera7313 banina un okkoma inda hita witath noodles ekak.kan na wafe 😂😂

[@fai3379]

@@dilanperera7313 *wage

[@CPR1318]

If we r gonna talk about 1st class, it's Sir Bradman and Kumar.

[@anubhav111196]

If the pitch looked difficult and every batsmen was struggling on it, Sangakkara would come and hit some gorgeous cover drives, I think sanga and Lara were the 2 best left handed batsmen I ever saw

[@anirudhavarma1594]

By far the best personality in cricket(I could go on about this cricketing skills too) Kudos to his father for raising such an immaculate professional!!! (And the tough love haha) Absolutely enjoyed this interview, and the other Atherton interviews with him. Could listen to Sangakkara speak indefinitely ❤️ I wish SL won when he played his final test :( Ah well, can't have it all ay! The empathy, the compassion, living in the moment, calling things as it is without remorse or hate, I think I've found an answer to "who is my favourite cricketer" question.

[@sameer6860]

Aside from being good cricketer, he's one of the most articulate guy besides MS. Dhoni (PS. best wicket keepers for me)

[@blackmask22605]

Sanga's accent forgets that he is a south asian ,it almost like a conversation between two englishmen

[@knowwhere4185]

The greatest wicketkeeper batsman ever , best cover drive ever

[@AbdulRahman-kz2dt]

Proud to be a Kandyan

[@mydhaba1]

Every Indian's favourite cricketer outside India- what a gentleman! Such a good speaker, so humble and proper. Such a role-model.

[@barrybhagwandeen2353]

Could listen to this legend speak all day long

[@mannyk2755]

Played tennis with his sister long time ago. She used to be a junior national champion

[@braveheart5696]

Actually she was a 5 times (consecutive years) Senior National Champion - from 1993 onward.

[@khansahabs007]

Bhai I felt the humble Kumara Sangakkara I admired since my childhood.

[@jayaprakashap1199]

One of the great english speaker cricketer in asia.

[@janakthapa9607]

Sri Lanka needs new batch of sangakara, jayawardane, dilshan and malinga

[@Astromusic786]

Such an amazing and well-spoken gentleman. A true ambassador for the sport. Love from 🇧🇩

[@faslanfaiz1340]

Sanga ♥️ 🇱🇰

[@rocharles001]

He is really an inspiration on and off the pitch!

[@chubbbyrock]

Underappreciated legend of the game

[@nigelawson5524]

He would be my No.3 and Captain in my test team of last 20 years.

[@user-jn9rj7km9o]

Bruh he's the greatest test batsman after Bradman

[@jamesbond4810]

@Raj Tiwari This is not an exam.

[@user-jn9rj7km9o]

Raj Tiwari Nah interesting enough theyve played the same no of matches Sanga has the better avg , runs , more 50s , 100s , 200s and Bradman’s the only guy who scored more 200s than Sanga by just 1 (Bradman 12 , Sanga 11 even greats like Sachin has just 6) and Sanga couldve broken the record once he was 192 given out by a wrong decision by Rudy and once when he was in 198, the non striker(last man) got run out but thanks to that he’s the one with most 190+ scores even more than Bradman and also the only World Record Lara has is the 400 in intl Tests But Sanga has a hella lot of world Records Such as the one who scored a 300 and a 100 in the same match and had the most consecutive 50s (7) in Tests and 4 consecutive 150+ in Tests and is the only guy with Sehwag to get a 300 by a 6 And also has the world records for the Fastest to 8000,9000,10000 ,11000, 12000 and has the best avg among the 10,000+ run getters (58) and as a pure batsman he’s avg is 60+

[@buddhikaprasad9318]

@@user-jn9rj7km9o wellsaid❤️❤️🙏

[@roshanatissera347]

If cricket had a mount Rushmore Sanga would be one of the faces on it.

[@aneeksaha7068]

Great to know that intellectuals can play cricket at the international level as well. CB Fry, Jack Hobbs, Ted Dexter, WG Grace, Keith Miller, Ray Lindwall, the history of cricket is so rich. In my view, the USA and Russia should take up cricket as well. Let cricket not be a 10 country sport, rather as popular as football. Similarly baseball is a beautiful game, with a great history comprising players such as Joe Dimaggio, Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig Yogi Berra, Satchell Paige, A Rod, Aroldis Chapman and so on. India can take up baseball as well.

[@hassanvs9868]

Its sad to see Neutral cricketers like him don't get selected in our Country. Racism and corruption dominate in selecting quality players. hope it will change one day and Selectors will choose the suitable players in future.

[@gaganamunasinghe1373]

Sky sports. Could you please give us bit longer video with this legend? There is a lot to grab from him.

[@TheAliroy]

He can be political person how he doing politics with icc and different cricket boards

[@lizaakter2200]

Oh I adore this man a lot 😍 my most favourite cricketer in the world ❤️ my crush 😘 used to watch his game from my childhood, an absolute gentleman, no haters, got very hurt when Srilanka lost in 2007& 2011 world cup final 😥 but my utmost respect for this awesome man 😘❤️

[@sajidsonu9667]

Legend of cricket

[@nextlevelmotivation7052]

Michael Atherton is a good interviewer.

[@RealistVK]

Two brightest minds talking cricket & life with progressive knowledge & scientific rational temperament.

[@rameshwardahal3923]

First view first like and first comment

[@gajman87]

Do you want a medal for this achievement?

[@rameshwardahal3923]

If you have then give me

[@bi6235]

Sanga is such a compelling, thoughtful and well spoken guest. And Atherton is such a great interviewer. What a treat.

[@pamudithasamarasinghe4783]

Could I be more proud as a Trinitian.

[@Earth098]

6:43- 7.07 great lesson right there

[@sandysenthil]

Spokesperson for cricket

[@aneeksaha7068]

Kumar Sangakkara is extremely wise. Learnt a lot from you sir

[@sammy60004]

Sangakkara is my role model. Not just in cricket but also in every aspect of life.

[@SayemTabla]

Pure class on and off the field. Rare and gem of a personality. Intelligent, well read, well spoken and humble.

[@pavasite4278]

How does he have a really good English accent?

[@gautamvishwanatham7512]

Love listening to this man

[@redroish]

Champion. Absolute champion. Love Sanga!

[@Hi-kq1vi]

Part 2-Oi I remember you sledging me early in your career, right near the end of mine.

[@Beingjom]

If he had won a world cup, would have been the greatest wicket keeper captain of his generation.

[@damianxavier7343]

They won a T20 world cup. they made it to the finals of odi world cups a few times but couldn't win.

[@rambhattacharjee1850]

Atherton 😍😍😍💖💖 Sanga is superb

[@sufaldas3582]

England create this game but cricket brought up with India. Don't destroy this game with so many formats like t10 and 100 overs cricket. T20 cricket already destroyed the game quite a lot

[@danguee1]

I watched Atherton and Steve Waugh. Waugh is an arsehole - Kumar a gentleman and thoroughly decent human being. But Kumar only gets 10 minutes?

[@ikramulfaruque4662]

Barring the farewell series against India, I never saw Sanga out form. I enjoyed his batting from 2007 to 2015. He was so good specially against India.

[@adamsamuel8593]

Would love to see Sky Sports upload on youtube Whispering Death Micheal Holding Documentary

[@rmc9498]

Dhoni and Kholi would be better rugby players! Team India better rugby players and team then New Zealand!

[@MiltonJhon-c3h]

❤❤❤❤ my favourite

[@Bradmedia190]

Great video

[@aneeksaha7068]

A bit of geography here. No country is totally hot or totally cold. Even In a hot country, there are places which have higher elevations where the weather is comfortable. So one can always find a place where the weather is good, where one can live. Even in Africa, there is the Kilimanjaro. In Algeria there are mountains where it snows. Therefore all this idea of climate change is irrelevant, because the world is big enough that one can always find cooler places to live in. Thank you Kumar Sangakkara for sparking this insight in my mind.

[@abishanyogarasa9790]

Sanga is a one of the intelligent

[@jayeshpotdar1424]

When can we watch second part of the interview?

[@kosalafonseka4754]

Amazing father...

[@TheIkaraCult]

Cricket produces unique characters, and Kumar is quite unlike anyone else walking around.

[@bandulaliyanagama3299]

Such a classy guy.

[@gssriharan3395]

Sanga ..dude you got to write a book..drop some knowledge...find the time buddy

[@todayracer4949]

best of english

[@-nz2dip]

Sanga❤

[@prashanthyerramilli9344]

CLASS ACT

[@ikramulfaruque4662]

Sanga is among my top 3 batsman. Never saw Lara bat. Sanga is the best Left hander I have seen batting.

[@madujithranathunga7270]

Sanga Speaks better English than the Englishman interviewing him.

[@m2imthiyas314]

කුමාර් සංඝක්කාර the gread man

[@fai3379]

Such a wonderful interview 🥰🥰🥰🥰

[@gokivadachandraavinash1247]

Greatest legend and good human being salute you sangakkara sir respect from India

[@mccullumdamps5785]

Young Sri Lankan players should need to learn these things

[@Aviation-PlaneSpotter]

Brilliant interview ! 👊🏻👍 Lessons for anyone who wants to do well in their respective career. Great insight !

[@WindysTalk]

what a person he is

[@shanthaperera3844]

Kandy brother Stylish english ❤ u sir

[@FootPrintsstudio]

He was in the same place where my home town and the place is rich with sports

[@bulubulu1689]

Bro sanga's dad is correct sanga retired too early.