Sri lanka captain Angelo Mathews on Wednesday said that he has gone down on his knees to beg record-breaking batsman Kumar Sangakkara not to quit after the World Cup. Sangakkara, 37, will call time on his ODI career at the end of the tournament but he is still in a rich vein of form — on Wednesday he became the first batsman to score four consecutive one-day centuries as Sri lanka thrashed Scotland by 148 runs.
He is also the leading scorer in the ongoing tournament with 496 runs from six games. If that wasn’t enough, Sangakkara also took two catches to overtake Adam Gilchrist as the most successful World Cup wicket-keeper with 54 dismissals. The Australian had 52 victims to his name.
“I’ve been on my knees asking him not to retire but we have to respect his wishes because we are thankful for all the times he has represented the country,” said Mathews. The skipper added: “The boys played really well and credit should go to Dilshan and Sangakkara, they are getting better and better with age.”
Despite his form, Sangakkara insisted that there will be no U-turn. “Retirement is not about form, it is about time and place and whether it feels right. It is never about whether you can play or not,” he said.