5 Sri Lankans who had forgettable debuts but went on to have remarkable Test careers

#4 Kumar Sangakkara

Sangakkara went on to have an incredible career after his initial mediocrity

Performance on debut: 23 against South Africa, 2000

Flawless cover drives, captivating on drives, pleasing flicks and authoritative pulls, add to that the elegance of a left-hander – Kumar Sangakkara was an important player for Sri Lanka and mesmerising to watch.

The Sri Lankan played 134 matches and amassed a whopping 12,400 runs, the most runs by a Sri Lankan in Test matches. However, he didn’t have the most ideal start to his career. His highest score in his first six innings was 25.

Test Career Stats

MAT	RUNS	AVG	100
134	12400	57.40	38

The southpaw scored his maiden test ton in his 10th match. In a career lasting 15 years, the classy left-hander scored 38 hundreds, 11 double hundreds and a scintillating triple hundred. The stylish batsman drew curtains on his illustrious career in 2015 at P Sara Oval, Colombo.

Scoring runs in all conditions, the Sri Lankan wicketkeeper-batsman was one of the most successful players of his era and a great ambassador of the game.