Colombo: Sri Lankan cricket legend Kumar Sangakkara today said that he will bid adieu to Test cricket after the second match against India during the home series in August, which will bring to an end an illustrious career.
“This is my time to call it a day,” Sangakkara told reporters on the sidelines of Sri Lanka's ongoing second Test against Pakistan here.
The 37-year-old said that he would be playing two of the three Test matches against India, scheduled to be held in August. The exact dates and venues of the tour have not yet been announced.
The world's active leading Test run-getter, Sangakkara also said that he would not play the third and final Test match of the ongoing series against Pakistan, starting on July 3 in Pallekele.
“I wanted to retire after the World Cup, but was requested by the selectors to stay on. I agreed to play four more Tests,” said the left-handed batsman whose career spanned around 15 years.
The iconic wicketkeeper-batsman, who made his Test debut against South Africa in 2000, has so far played 131 matches, scoring 12,271 runs, including 38 tons and 52 half-centuries, at an average of 58.43.
Sangakkara figures in top five highest Test scorers in the world.The veteran has already retired from One-Day Internationals and Twenty-20 cricket. He quit the shortest format after winning the World T20 in 2014 and left the ODI scene after the 2015 ICC World Cup.
