Kumar Sangakkara retirement - How Lanka's club moulded a legend

Tucked away in the cozy surroundings of the Cinnamon Gardens here is the holy trinity of Sri Lankan cricket - CCC (Colombo Cricket Club), NCC (Nondescripts Cricket Club) and the SSC (Singhalese Cricket Club). These clubs form the pillars on which the foundation of Lankan cricket is set. Established in 1888, NCC has produced a lot of top Lankan internationals, from former captains Michael Tissera, Aravinda de Silva, Ranjan Madugalle, Hashan Tillekaratne, to one of their finest, Kumar Sangakkara.

The word 'Nondescripts' seems an odd name for a club but has a history behind it "Nondescripts was the only club open to anyone without racial bias of any kind. Nondescripts had a lot of people playing from different backgrounds, be it executives, lawyers or judges," Ranjit Fernando, an NCC member, told said.

Incidentally , NCC, landed Sangakkara by chance. As the story goes, Sangakkara was headed for CCC. Umpire Asoka de Silva, who had umpired some of his school games, invited Sangakkara to have a look around the NCC and play here if he wanted.

"He fitted brilliantly with the team and I think played under Russell Arnold when he first got here. The club those days had a lot of players in the national team, so it was not difficult to play for the first team. But after a few years I saw Kumar was getting frustrated be cause he was not getting the break to move up to the national team, former Lankan wicketkeeper Fernando said.

Sangakkara first came into the limelight when he was touring with the SL 'A' team to South Africa. Later, when Zimbabwe toured Sri Lanka, he scored a 150-odd playing for the Board President's XI.

Sangakkara's pictures adorn the walls of the NCC pavilion - the most prominent one being the list of Sri Lanka captains from the club. He is among the nine over the years.

Sanga's obsession with perfection became a problem with the authorities. "There was a time when Sangakkara batted on and on at the nets. The kids started to do the same. I told him about it but he said he didn't do that regularly but only when he felt there is something wrong with his game," Fernando said.

Sangakkara is also a 'oneclub' man. "His loyalty to one club has been an example for young players. When he was not picked, he used to come with his girlfriend Yehali, the wife now and spend time playing billiards," Fernando said.