Wisden Cricket Monthly columnist and Sri Lanka legend Kumar Sangakkara pays tribute to former teammate Rangana Herath, whom he regards as “the greatest cricketing role model Sri Lanka has produced”.
This article was first published in issue 14 of Wisden Cricket Monthly. Subscribe here.
The retirement of Rangana Herath, the last cricketer who made his Test debut in the 90s still playing at the top level, represents the end of an era. It has been an extraordinary journey for him.
I’ve known Rangana since he was 15 years old. I played school cricket against him and then we played at age-group level together for Sri Lanka. We’ve remained strong friends. One of the things that always impressed me is his innate ability just to get on with whatever his responsibilities are. He has never complained, never looked for excuses, he just put his head down, trained hard and made sure that whenever an opportunity came his way, he was 100 per cent ready to perform for his side. Whenever he got the opportunity to shine, shine he did.
I’ve heard people describe Rangana as overachieving in his career and I think that’s ridiculous – I don’t believe that at all. You have to take into consideration the years he spent in the international wilderness – he didn’t play a Test match between late 2005 and early 2008. What he could have achieved in those years, personally and for our team, is a question that will never be answered.
I’m very proud to have played with Rangana and to call him my friend. He deserves all the praise and the accolades that he has received, and hopefully will continue to receive in the years to come.
