First published in issue 13 of Wisden Cricket Monthly, the legendary Kumar Sangakkara writes on the country-boy revolutionary whose unassuming brilliance would change the game beyond recognition.

Adam Gilchrist altered cricket forever. He overthrew the old ideas of what a wicketkeeper-batsman should be. Selectors’ perceptions changed. The balance of teams changed. And it was all thanks to one man.

A wicketkeeper’s life used to be simple. They would earn a living by being the best gloveman in the side. Suddenly that changed. With Gilchrist, it became an all-rounder’s role, where competency with the gloves was essential but you had to be a match-turning batsman down the order. Wicketkeepers realised that the heat was on for them to redefine themselves as batsmen of worth as well. Keepers all around the world were in complete distress! Test cricket was forever changed.

As a gloveman, and this is not remarked upon enough, Gilchrist was impeccable. He had great technique. He used the old Australian style, as opposed to the English way, of catching the ball well in front of his eyes, following the line of the ball with arms outstretched and having enough ‘give’ to take it in and soften the impact.

He was always a gentleman cricketer. I admired him a lot. We had many conversations off the field, but rarely about cricket. He was also known for walking every time he nicked it behind, most famously in the 2003 World Cup semi-final against Sri Lanka.

In world cricket there are very few people who actually walk consistently every time they nick the ball. Walking once or twice, you see it. But walking for non-obvious nicks that only the bowler or the wicketkeeper has heard doesn’t really happen at all. But in Gilchrist’s case, he simply played the game as he saw it.

He was passionate about the game and of course he cared about the result, but at the same time he had great freedom to express who he was. He took the dangers and risks of playing the way he did, and took them equally. He was at peace with the way he played the game.