Sanga shares secrets of success at Excellence in Action 2013

By Shabiya Ali Ahlam

Celebrated cricket sensation, Sri Lankan cricketer and former captain of the Sri Lankan national cricket team Kumar Chokshanada Sangakkara delivered an exceptional interactive session to the audience at the Excellence in Action 2013 forum, organised by the Royal College batch of ’72.

It was a rare opportunity to ask the cricket icon simply whatever one wanted, and the Trinitian responded every question that was thrown his way without holding back. Despite his busy schedule, Sangakkara’s fans present at the colloquium had the added bonus of having a photography and autograph session with the sports star once the forum came to a close.

Sangakkara captained the national cricket team from 2009 to 2011 and stepped down soon after the ICC World Cup 2011 finals. Named the ODI Cricketer of the Year at the ICC 2011, Sangakkara was named one of the top five Wisden Cricketers of the Year in 2012.

He was also the youngest and the first current international player to deliver the 2011 MCC Spirit Cricket Cowdrey Lecture which gained him worldwide attention and praise by the cricketing community for his outspoken nature. Kumar, at this forum, shared insights on his experience and journey in the world of cricket.

Q: How was it in the dressing room after the World Cup finals and what did you tell your team after the match?

A: There is not a lot that you can say to a group of devastated and disappointed people. They had worked for four years since 2007 to try and reach that pinnacle. It is tough in Sri Lanka as we have a lot of history and traditions while we also have a lot of people who have knocked balls out of the park.

The 1996 World Cup was a benchmark for us and in 2006, we had this printed on our T-shirts, marking the 10-year anniversary of the victory and this was an inspiration for every single cricketer who played for the national team.

We wanted to prove to ourselves that we were good enough, we wanted to be a part of a team that would be recognised as the best team in the world and certainly were not looking forward to being told that only the team from 1996 was capable of bringing home the world cup and that they were the best team the nation could ever have.

You want to feel proud, want to feel like a champion and a winner and all these hopes were dashed so there is not much that could be said. When you play sports, you learn that there is no choice, there is no way out but to stand up and move on and people can do this is in different ways.

Some get angry, some cry, while some would blame others or themselves. It doesn’t really matter when you are sitting in the dressing room. You go through a lot of emotions and feel ashamed that you have let the nation and each other down. The real strength we train for is to be able to take responsibility and to move on.  

Whether we talk about it or not, in our mind we want to get on with our lives and cricket, while we pacify ourselves that there will be another world cup or a test match where we will shine. I must say that you spend the next four years haunted by the defeat. I still feel the same emotions and am certain that I would feel the same 20 years from now.

We had to walk the streets, look our fans in the eye and answer them truthfully, sincerely and honestly when they questioned us about why we didn’t bring the cup home. We certainly tried hard, but we weren’t good enough. That is the gist of what was going through in our minds in the dressing room when the opposing team triumphed.

Q: Would you have reacted the same way that Mahela Jayawardene reacted during the last ball of the T20 match held in Australia?

A: I think that the reaction was pretty good. Well it’s a strange question and I don’t know. I must say that it is an unrelated incident that has no reflection on the characters of other players as individuals. What do you think would have happened if Mahela, Mathews and everyone else together having a real match on the other end said ‘let’s just get on with it’. How people interpreted it depended on the result.

What if the batsman hit all fours? The reaction would have been much worse and people would have said ‘oh, they shouldn’t have reacted in that way, they have lost focus.’ If, like what happened, Tissera bowled a dot ball and you win the game, the reaction takes a complete turn. There is no right or wrong decisions in cricket; it’s about the execution of skills. It doesn’t matter what was said, at the end of that match what really mattered was the four seconds that the game depended on and that one action which decided Sri Lanka had won the match.

In a sense of the game, the incident is completely unimportant and is of no use. Did it really contribute to our winning? Who knows. Was it a psychological call by the Sri Lankans, we would like to say yes to that, but clearly not. Reacting and being emotional is a problem in sports and it’s one of the lessons you learn pretty quickly.

In 2002, in a test series against South Africa, we played a practice game in Kimberly. Neil McKenzie, who is a very good player and usually a nice person, was verbally abusive during the sessions. He made statements that were very offensive and personal that made us uncomfortable. We soon learnt that the Shane Warne had singled out McKenzie for abuse soon after a match that was badly lost that same year.

McKenzie was carrying this baggage and was taking it out on us. We played the first test and it got a bit worse. We went into the second test and our boys had had enough. So before we walked out to the field, we decided that we were going to go about it in the same way, if not worse. If they say one thing, we were going to say five things back. Marvan Atapattu, a person who doesn’t even call when running between wickets, was up for this as well.

In addition to the game, we had a massive shouting match with them and what we grasped was that while South Africa was a well performing team, when the tables were turned on them, they were the most vulnerable players in the world. The South African team up to now has never said a word against us since the incident.

It’s not because we were any better at it than them. They realised that for the first time they handed us the advantage. Almost cracking under pressure, their coach told them in the dressing room that they had just given Sri Lanka an idea on how to beat them. To this day, I believe that the success we have had against with South Africa, both at home and away in big tournaments, is directly a result of that particular tour.

When you are emotional, reactive, and that affects the way you play, as well as your competence and performance, it is best to keep mum and do your job. At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter what you do as long as the result is in your favour.

Q. How do you prepare yourself as you walk out to 80,000 spectators in Calcutta or Melbourne all shouting out for your blood and how do you cope and be consistent?

A: To me, it’s all about preparation and I treat it as the key to my confidence, my scores, and my consistency. Preparation is what takes me from my practice net, to the dressing room and finally to the grounds. From a young age, I was one of those cricketers who started late and I wasn’t very talented when it came to cricket specifically.

It was always the case where I had to work very hard for every single run that I scored. I was terrible against spin, not that I am any better against it now, but these are all things I had to practice. When I got into the national team, my practice plan was set and I had that in place really early on. That is why I believe I am successful.

When I am prepared, have done all my homework and am about to go into a game, I am confident. I don’t know if am going to score any runs that day, whether I am going to get out with zero or 100 runs. All I know is that I have done everything possible to be ready. When I am waiting to go and bat in front of an audience, all I am thinking about is if I am prepared and I define my job for that moment.

When your focus is on that and you cross the boundary line, trust me, you do not hear 80,000 people. If you believe and you know that your practice is good and right, you will always change and fine-tune it. Preparation is everything to me and that is how I get about my cricket.

Q: As a leader and captain in cricket, you are rewarded if the team plays well. As a captain, you only manage the team whereas the selection is done by the board. What role and rights did you have in giving instructions or convincing the board that you want a certain set of people on the team?

A: First of all, a leader and a captain are two different things. A captain is a nominated leader whereas a leadership role can be played by just about anyone. If you are the captain of the cricket team, whether the team wins or loses, in both situations credit is given to the captain and that is the reality. I always had one theory when I had to give presentations. I would talk about myself if we lost, and if we win, I would talk about everyone else on the team.

It doesn’t matter who made the mistake as at the end of the day because as captain, it is your responsibility and accountability. When it comes to selection, many countries have changed their processes over time. In Australia and New Zealand, the captain is elected as a selector but in our country, this is not the case.

In Sri Lanka, the selectors don’t need to summon the captain for a meeting to get his viewpoints. In cricket, it is difficult to pick a side and talk about strategy. Usually what is done is that a meeting is held with the captain, vice captain and senior players where discussions are held with the coach and we strategise.

To execute the strategy, the top 15 players who are thought to be the best are selected for the game. Out of the 15, only 11 or 12 would be used in the entire tour and some of them will never play again but you need have a backup just in case something goes wrong. Selection is a matter of opinion. It is based on trust and research and has a lot to do with numbers and statistics but there is no guarantee.

At the end of the day, it is the captain who takes over the responsibility and we don’t have the selector making a statement at the end of the tour, it is always the captain. You have to decide how far you have to fight the selectors and good relationships with them need be built. You cannot go into a selection meeting and have the 10 people in the room nod their heads in agreement to every suggestion made. You need to have arguments, fights and disagreements. The most important element at the end of the meeting is to have a consensus.

Q: Since 1996, Sri Lanka has made it to many world cup finals and we are getting a reputation as chokers. What are your thoughts on that?

A: It depends on who you call a choker. Is it someone who loses in the first round? Is it someone who loses in the semi-finals? Or is it is someone who loses in the final? Who is the choker? Are all of us chokers? Forget calling a team a name. In 1996, we won the world cup and in 1999, we didn’t even make it to the first round and everyone was calling for change.

Out of the last five world cups, we made in to finals four times and that’s probably even worse than losing in the first round because we had given everyone hope. There is an issue with attitude, acceptance and perception as well. When it comes down to the nitty-gritty of playing, I agree that there are mental aspects we could look at.

If we are good enough to be one of the two best teams in the entire tournament who are consistent enough to make it to four world cups, what it that the team is doing wrong? And I have been a part of all four. Sport psychology is an interesting topic and Sri Lanka had addressed it only once. We have different attitudes when it comes to saying that there must be something mentally not quite there with the team.

We take offence at it but it doesn’t mean that we are not mentally stable. We always take a backward step especially in cricket as other types of sports are more receptive and open to the idea. In cricket, one would question the need of a mental strength coach.

I once worked with a sports psychologist called Sandy Gordan in 2007 before the world cup. The surprising thing is that he was not there to change the world or even change you as a person. He was there simply to point out certain things that should be obvious, while helping to create an environment to be happy and help to be better than just good.

Every single final match we played, including the last T20 World Cup, we were very scared to admit that we were playing at the finals. Every time we had a team meeting, we would tell ourselves to pretend we are playing just another match. We were trying as a team to deny the obvious reality. We were playing in the world cup, we were in the finals and if we won that, we would be the world champions. I think the first thing we had to change is to accept the fact that we were playing in the World Cup finals.

Let’s start with that and put our hands up and say that there is something wrong. Let’s get other people involved to find other reasons if there are any. There is nothing bad that can come out of having a sports psychologist. We need to change attitudes, not just as players but as administrators on the whole, since without that shift we cannot move on.

Q: Do you support a deeper cause other than cricket?

A: In our own way, we all touch lives. In cricket we are entertainers. While cricket is a wonderful game, at the end of the day, it is a sport. I don’t want to spend the rest of my life being a cricketer as that would be rather disappointing. I want to try and do various other things with the game to try and give back to the society.

I feel that as a cause one can also commit to playing cricket at its best and become the best cricketer one can for that period. Everyone is motivated towards something and is always looking for leadership in the big screen. I want to do as many things as I can. I don’t know what I will become but I want to find out. That journey is what we all want. If we touch a life, it might not change the world but that life will change the world for you.

Q: You are involved in many activities at the moment which includes cricket, public speaking and obviously the Ministry of Crab. How do you manage it all and yet remain focused?

A: Yes, I am involved in a restaurant, charities and various others but I always try to surround myself with good people who are competent in their respected fields who would give me the time to focus on what is most important for me right now. For me, number one is always my family and falling next at number two, is cricket. While everything else is peripheral, this is my focus right now. I am 35 years old and it is my time to explore what I am most capable of. I spent 12 years in cricket and probably would play for a few more years. Real life starting for me would be after this.

Q: Today if you ask children who they would want to be, they wouldn’t say their parents’ names, instead they would say Sangakkara. Who, or rather what, has been your inspiration?

A: I am standing here today as a person who has never achieved his ambition. I wanted to either join the army or become a fighter pilot and certainly don’t see myself becoming either in the future. Basically, I have not achieved my dreams. However, dreams shift. Growing up I didn’t know who I wanted to be. I shifted my focus towards academic and cricket and am happy that I did.

In cricket, I wanted to be like Brian Lara and still do as I think he is a fantastic player on the world stage. Sanath Jayasuriya’s performance during his heyday also greatly inspires me and I am not saying this just because he is chairman of selectors’ committee. When I was growing up, I was lucky to be born in a financially stable home with great role models around me who are my parents and my siblings. My parents allowed me the freedom to choose who I wanted to be. I chose cricket and here I am.

 -Pix by Upul Abayasekara