Full Name

Sanath Teran Jayasuriya

Born

June 30, 1969, Matara

Age

54y 263d

Batting Style

Left hand Bat

Bowling Style

Slow Left arm Orthodox

Playing Role

Allrounder

It's hard to imagine that for the first half-decade of his career Sanath Jayasuriya was considered a bowler who could bat a bit. Think of him now and you think of forearms straight out of a smithy, shots hammered through point and cover, and balls scythed over the leg side: a man who could score briskly in every form of the game and who slashed and burned his way through bowling attacks.

As with anyone who relied so much on extraordinary hand-eye coordination, there were troughs and lean times, but just as the obit writers got busy, Jayasuriya would produce another innings of supreme power. The slow left-arm bowling, always canny and relying more on variations in pace than on sharp turn, became the support act, though 440 international wickets will tell you that he was pretty adept at what he did.

Jayasuriya, who had trawled the lower reaches of the middle order till then, had his first stint as ODI opener during the Hero Cup in India in 1993, and established himself in the role during a home series against Pakistan the following year. By the time the World Cup rolled around in 1996 he had already chalked up his first century in Tests, a frenetic stroke-filled effort in Adelaide.

People remember Aravinda de Silva's magical innings from the semi-final and final of the 1996 World Cup but it was Jayasuriya's withering assaults that deflated India in Delhi and England in the last eight. Soon after, he began to exact as heavy a toll on Test attacks, scoring at such a pace that Muthiah Muralidaran and friends had ample time to work their way through opposition batters.

Jayasuriya had a four-year stint as captain that ended with a semi-final appearance at the 2003 World Cup, and just as the whispers grew about diminishing returns with the bat, he had one of his most successful years in 2004. There was a retirement announcement in 2006, but he was back within weeks, finally walking off the Test stage 18 months later, after a typically cavalier 78 in Kandy.

In one-dayers, he took Sri Lanka to another World Cup final in 2007, and he was instrumental in the Asia Cup win of 2008, a couple of months after it had seemed that the selectors' axe had fallen for the final time. The IPL gave him a new platform to showcase his big-hitting talent, but failure to replicate the success of the first season in subsequent campaigns was the sign that time had finally caught up.

Jayasuriya's election as a member of parliament in April 2010 and his subsequent failure at the T20 World Cup suggested his international career might have ended, but he made the longlist for the 30-man squad for the 2011 World Cup, though he didn't play in the tournament. His last ODI and T20I came weeks shy of his 42nd birthday, in England later that year.

Sanath Jayasuriya Career Stats

Batting & Fielding

FormatMatInnsNORunsHSAveBFSR100s50s4s6sCtSt
Tests11018814697334040.071069865.18143191059780
ODIs445433181343018932.361472591.20286815002701230
T20Is313036298823.29487129.1504762340
FC265419331481934038.39--2970--1620
List A557542251612818931.19--3182--1530
T20s11110972317114*22.711654140.08112252114210

Bowling

FormatMatInnsBallsRunsWktsBBIBBMAveEconSR4w5w10w
Tests11014081883366985/349/7434.342.4683.5620
ODIs44536814874118713236/296/2936.754.7846.0840
T20Is3124371456193/213/2124.007.3719.5000
FC265-1527568082055/34-33.202.6774.5-20
List A557-18167143964136/296/2934.854.7543.91250
T20s1119215931983774/244/2425.757.4620.6100
Sanath Teran Jayasuriya

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Photos of Sanath Jayasuriya

Sanath Jayasuriya applauds Pathum Nissanka's double-century
Sanath Jayasuriya lost his off stump to Vinay Kumar
Sanath Jayasuriya is the cynosure of all eyes at the press conference
Sanath Jayasuriya used the turn and variable bounce on offer to perfection
Prabath Jayasuriya continued his impressive debut
Sanath Jayasuriya gives an interview on the sidelines