Kumar Sangakkara retires: Tweets and tributes

One of Sri Lanka's biggest sporting icons Kumar Sangakkara walked away from the sport after an illustrious international career. Sangakkara finishes fifth on the list of run-getters in Tests after Sachin Tendulkar, Ricky Ponting, Jacques Kallis and Rahul Dravid with 12,400 runs at an average in excess of 50. Arguably, one of the most aesthetically-pleasing left-handers to have graced the game, Sangakkara amassed 63 centuries and 153 fifties across formats in his 15-year-long career.

Here are some of the tweets and tributes to the legend.

Roshan Abeysinghe: I came into commentary in 1995. Sangakkara blossomed since 2000 and he's been there for 15 years. I've seen 'him play some delightful innings. I watched him get that record partnership with Mahela at SSC. But, that was a docile pitch. Once he got in, a good player will kick on. I also saw him score a few hundreds outside Sri Lanka. He took on the Australians in Australia. To me, what stands out though was his hundred at Lord's on a seaming track. I believe Kumar wanted to prove a point. On the previous tour he got an 80 at Rose Bowl. That was a troubled tour but he still got 80. The hundred at Lord's was a brilliant one for the way he tackled Anderson. It was a hundred that came late in his career but possibly one of the best knocks that I've seen him play.

From a distance, I've seen enough to understand he's passionate about his country. He upholds the values of Sri Lanka. He always refers to his father in all interviews. He believes in family values. To have someone like Sangakkara talk about his father constantly shows the he will inculcate the same in his children. That is something that we, as Sri Lankans, can be very proud of. He always stood for his country. In his Cowdrey lecture, he was good enough to say I'm a Tamil, a Sinhalese, a Muslim, a Burgher, a Hindu...His support base is devoid of caste or creed. That and the fact that he has time to be involved in charity, the Foundation of goodness, and all that he is doing with Kushil Gunasekara are characteristics of a very good human being. And that's what we want in this world.

Virat Kohli: He has been a wonderful player for Sri Lanka. I have had quite a few chats with him on the field and away from the field as well. Such a legend of the game retiring. (Source: bcci.tv)

Angelo Mathews: He's been the backbone of Sri Lanka cricket's batting for the past 15 years. All good things have to come to an end unfortunately. We can't thank him enough for what he has done for Sri Lanka cricket, we truly wish him all the very best in his future endeavours.

Suresh Raina: Loved his fearless batting under pressure. His non-striker looked more confident when he was around. He won so many games for Sri Lanka. He's one of the greatest legends of the game and a great human being.

Ravi Shastri: He broke into being one of the top two or three players and he never got out of that. There are very few players who fall in that list. You can bring Sachin Tendulkar in that league as the kind of player that once broke into the top two or three never moved out of there. He has got runs world over and scored double hundreds like it is a pass time. We love Sanga for the way he has entertained and he has been a fantastic ambassador for the game of cricket. That is a legacy that he will leave behind and I think every Sri Lankan should be proud of what he has achieved not just personally but the way he has conducted himself in going round the world as an international cricketer. You can call him as one of the statesmen of the modern game. His ability to adapt and concentrate and his ability to bat for long periods of time. He had a wide range of shots, understood his game well and obviously worked as hard as any you would get. Also, his simple ability to assess the conditions very quickly, be it England, Australia, South Africa, West Indies or Colombo made him very special (Source: bcci.tv)