5 batsmen who redefined the role of attacking play

#1 Sanath Jayasuriya

Sanath Jayasuriya

The man who was decisive in Sri Lanka's rise to power in international cricket. Sanath Jayasuriya was an all-rounder, who had an international career that spanned over two decades, playing a staggering 445 ODI fixtures. He is the only player to score over 12000 runs and take more than 300 wickets in One-day international cricket.

He brought into play, the powerful striking and credited for having drastically revolutionising one-day international cricket with his turbulent batting display in partnership with Romesh Kaluwitharana. Jayasuriya was adjudged the man of the tournament in 1996 World Cup. As part of his all-round performance, he took 7 wickets and scored 221 runs at an average of 36.83 with a strike rate of 131.55. Glenn McGrath cited Jayasuriya as one of the toughest batsmen to bowl to since his fiery innings from the outset lead them to go back to the drawing board.

Without a shadow of a doubt, Jayasuriya along with Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene were the "Big Three" and the pillars of Sri Lankan cricket. Sri Lankan cricket has struggled post their retirement to maintain the standards of competitive cricket.