ராதே கிருஷ்ணா 28-04-2013

Kumar Sangakkara a man with a plan

Impact of Sri Lanka's worldly wicketkeeper felt well beyond cricket's fields of play

Gareth Copley/Getty ImagesSangakkara is a powerful force in Sri Lanka and also has used his profile to promote HIV awareness.

"Our cricket embodied everything in our lives, our laughter and tears, our hospitality, our generosity, our music, our food and drink. It was normality and hope and inspiration in a war-ravaged island. In it was our culture and heritage, enriched by our myriad ethnicities and religions. In it we were untouched, at least for a while, by petty politics and division. It is indeed a pity that life is not cricket. If it were, we would not have seen the festering wounds of an ignorant war." -- Kumar Sangakkara, 2011 MCC Spirit of Cricket Cowdrey Lecture

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I

t was a speech of Churchill in its power, King in its eloquence, Ali in its defiance. It was about cricket and country. War and wickets. The man who delivered it was on a tour against England but still managed to scribble together an hourlong rumination and articulate it as though he were a member of the United Nations. He was actually a left-handed hitting wicketkeeper from Sri Lanka with a 56.73 run average in test cricket. Kumar Sangakkara is one of cricket's pre-eminent players and spokesmen, the winner of three International Cricket Council awards in 2012, including Cricketer of the Year.

"Sangakkara is undoubtedly one of the greatest captains Sri Lanka has ever produced," said Jaliya Wickramasuriya, Sri Lanka's ambassador to the United States. "He is also a very intelligent and committed person and an excellent role model for young Sri Lankans."

Cricinfo Catches Up With Kumar

Kumar Sangakkara talks with Alison Mitchell about his relationship with Mahela Jayawardene, using cricket to give back to the community, and administration ambitions. Tea Break 

He's also a renaissance man, a lawyer intraining, with a gift for the cover drive who's been described as a "tough-talking, sharp-thinking, ball-bashing man with a plan." That plan also involves changing his country and the world.

As Sri Lanka continues to host the ICC World Twenty20, the country itself is still recovering from a 25-plus-year civil war that ended in 2009 and nearly tore it apart. For many Americans, the bloody ethnic conflict that arose from tensions between the Sinhalese majority and Tamil minority in the northeast part of country was something we probably heard only on the periphery, perhaps from the lyrics of singer M.I.A. or novels like "Anil's Ghost" by Michael Ondaatje, author of "The English Patient." The war claimed more than an estimated 70,000 lives, according to the BBC, in acts of horror ranging from suicide bombings to assassinations. Each side has been accused by the U.N. of war crimes against civilians. Few have been more vocal, outspoken and honest about the war and its atrocities as Sangakkara has, for it's been with him since he was born.

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Parthu Rowvey Vmp shared என்ன பாத்து ஏன்டா இந்த கேள்விய கேட்ட?'s photo.

யார் இந்த குமார் சங்கக்கார?
ஈழ தமிழரும் ஈழதமிழர் நலன் காக்க பாடுபடும் ஒவ்வரு தமிழனும் மதிக்க வேண்டிய ஒரு மனிதன்.

83இல் தமிழருக்கு எதிரான கலவரங்கள் நடைபெற்றபோது சிங்களக் காடையர்களின் அச்சுறுத்தல்களுக்குப் பணியாமல் தமிழ் மக்களுக்கு அடைக்கலம் கொடுத்து ஆதரித்த ஒரு சிங்களவரின் மகன் தான் இந்த குமார் சங்கக்கார.

தமிழருக்கெதிரான அந்தத் தாக்குதல்களைக் கண்டித்தும் தனது தகப்பனின் அந்தச்செயலினை பெருமையுடன் நினைவு கூர்ந்தும் சர்வதேச மாநாடு ஒன்றில் துணிந்து பேசியவர்தான் இந்த குமார் சங்கக்கார.
To read more:
http://sports.espn.go.com/extra/cricket/news/story?id=8430573

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