'I'm a bit disappointed not to get that Test average up to 50'
Mahela Jayawardene reflects on his Test career, and the need to bridge the gap between international and club cricket in Sri Lanka
Not really, never. I think that's a good thing because then I know I made the right call. It's always a tough decision to make. You never know when is the right time. But I've always felt that I would get the hint from within me, and then I just needed to ask the right questions of myself.
That's who I am. I played because I loved the game. It wasn't the numbers, getting to that milestone or breaking that record. For me, it was just the pure joy of going out there and enjoying my cricket. Whatever came my way, records, achievements, I've taken it in my stride and tried to improve myself. Other than that I haven't gone away from the way I started as a 20-year-old. My technique hasn't changed. The approach in certain formats has changed purely because of the responsibility and role I have been given in the team. I am a bit disappointed that I haven't been able to get that average of 50, but after 149 games, I am quite happy with 49.
When I started as an 18-19-year-old, I just wanted to play for my country. After establishing myself, I set myself certain goals. Like, there was no Sri Lankan who had scored 10,000 runs in Test cricket. I wanted to push myself to get there, which I achieved. It's easy to say I could have played more, achieved more, but I didn't want to be someone else.
A little bit. But as a Sri Lankan, we don't get regular tours to those places. I made my debut in 1997 but I didn't play a Test match in Australia till 2004. Even though I toured South Africa in 2009, I didn't play a Test match. I played in 2002-03. For me, it took a bit of time to learn about those conditions.
I thoroughly enjoyed it when I was given the opportunity and I managed to put my own stamp on it and create a culture. I always felt that if I can't control certain elements, then I walk away from it, because I wanted to enjoy the game rather than get entangled in all the other stuff. It came to a point that I didn't enjoy my captaincy - not the cricket side of it but behind the scenes. I explained that to the administration and let it go because I wanted to continue playing and enjoying the game.
"We played without contracts, we played without pay for 12 months. For us it's important that we represent our country, but at the same time we won't give up on our rights"
Not all the time, but we've had our issues over the years. I am assuming it's the same scenario in most places.
Definitely. It's important that Sri Lankans play the Sri Lankan brand of cricket. That has been very successful for us over the years. Like you said, we've evolved since we got our Test status in 1982. For a team to win a World Cup in 1996 - that's because we had our own identity, our own brand of cricket, and we've continued to develop that.
Definitely. They should keep pushing themselves and improve. You don't want to be stuck in one place but to play with that brand and try and see whether they can push the envelope.
Yes, unfortunately. If you look ten to 15 years back, it wasn't an issue. But now international standards have improved quite a bit. We haven't been able to lift our domestic cricket. Fortunately we have a very good schools structure, where kids play a lot of good cricket. They develop till 16-17 to a very good level. But there is a gap with our club cricket. We need to bridge that gap. We've given so many new ideas but unfortunately nothing has been implemented.
It is good to have someone like that. He's a very intelligent cricketer, a very intelligent human being. To have someone like that as your best mate on and off the field is good. Because we bounce things off each other, decision-making becomes much easier. We aren't two guys who say yes to everything. We always argue, so that we make sure the decisions are good. When I say "we" it's always the team, not just Sanga!
We did it when it came to our contracts, payments, structures, everything. You can't do that by creating an environment just inside the dressing room. We needed to show that there is not much of a difference between the top guys and the bottom guys. As long as you push yourself, as long as you achieve certain standards, you can get to those top slabs of the contracts.
Even to the day he retired, Murali got along with the juniors. Whoever came into the side, he was the first one to take him out for a meal. Maybe he felt younger when he spent time with the younger boys! When I joined the team, Murali was a bachelor. Even his wife knows of his adventures! All innocent - we would go out, have a good night out and come back.
"I've always felt every team should play a minimum of eight to ten Test matches every year"
His advice would come if you got out to a spinner. He hates when batsmen get out to spinners. He watches a lot of cricket. If there was a Mr Cricket in Australia, there was a Mr Cricket in Sri Lanka in Murali. He knows everything that's going on and he reads the game very well. When he talks, he talks sense. It's just that he talks a lot! He was fantastic to have in the dressing room.
These are personal decisions. We don't get too involved in giving advice on that. I spoke to him when I made my call. He wasn't very happy but he understood where it's coming from. Kumar is batting really well, but it's up to him to decide on his career. We had a wonderful 15 years. It will be good to watch him on the screen.
I think the game has evolved. All the formats have improved. With T20s, the skill level has improved of all cricketers and they have taken it to one-day and Test cricket. Test cricket has become much more attractive - big scores, quick scores, and aggressive cricket. But it is important that we maintain a balance, make sure we play quality cricket, not quantity. I've always felt every team should play a minimum of eight to ten Test matches every year. If we can come to that solution, that would be great. You have the iconic series, that's traditional, so those countries might play a bit more, but try and keep that emphasis on playing a minimum of eight to ten Tests for each country. Otherwise, the countries that play less Test cricket will find it tough to keep their standards up.
I haven't made too many plans. I will still play a bit of cricket. It will be tough to leave the game completely, but I don't want to be a permanent fixture. So if I can have my own schedule and be involved, I'd be more than happy to. But if not, there's a lot of other things happening in my life with businesses and family.
Gaurav Kalra is a senior editor at ESPNcricinfo. @gauravkalra75