Former Surrey star Sangakkara gets role at Marylebone Cricket Club
Former Sri Lanka and Surrey batsman Kumar Sangakkara has been appointed the first non-British president of Marylebone Cricket Club.
Sangakkara, who begins his one-year tenure in October, retired from the game in 2017 after a summer in which he hit 1,491 championship runs, including eight hundreds, for Surrey, at an average of 106.50.
Already an honorary life member of MCC, he has sat on its influential world cricket committee for the past seven years.
Sangakkara said: “It is a huge honour to be named the next president of MCC and it is a role that I am thoroughly looking forward to.”
Not afraid to be outspoken, the 41-year-old has written off Sri Lanka’s chances of winning the World Cup, calling their preparation “chaotic.”
Sangakkara has also expressed concern that teams might think twice before touring Sri Lanka following the recent terrorist attacks in Colombo.
More than 250 people were killed on Easter Sunday, when one of the targets was the hotel used by the England team at the end of last year.
“I was in the bus, in 2009, when the Sri Lanka team got attacked, so I understand the reservations and the security concerns that come after such an incident,” said Sangakkara.
“We need an open conversation, to make sure there are independent assessments done and that the boards connect openly and fully.
“It’s important that tours do go ahead. I’m sure from a Sri Lankan perspective that those security protocols will be in place very soon.”
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