It was an honour to represent Sri Lanka, says http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Hashan-Prasantha-Tillakaratne-c62021 – Cricket News Update
Hashan Tillakaratne, the former Sri Lankan skipper, believes that it was an honour for him to represent his country at the highest stage of the game and claims that since winning the http://www.senore.com/Cricket/ICC-World-Cup-2011-c100625 Cricket World Cup 1996, the game has become
a religion in the Island.
The 45-year-old former cricketer made his way to international arena in 1986 and went on to play for http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Sri-Lanka-c758 for almost 18 years, in 83 Tests and 200 One Day Internationals. The left-handed middle-order batsman was an integral part
of the Lankan side during the World Cup glory in 1996.
The cricketer turned politician believes that winning the mega event remains the peak of his long career and playing international cricket was truly a great experience.
The former player from Colombo is happy and satisfied with what he has achieved as a cricketer.
Tillakaratne expressed, "Representing Sri Lanka in every game was an experience for me. Yes, the World Cup win was special, but for me every game was important. I enjoyed my cricket, and I believe I gave something to Sri Lankan cricket.
I am very happy with what I achieved."
The left-handed batsman had a sound temperament and technique, scoring more than eight thousand runs in international cricket with the help of 13 centuries. He has a prolific record in first-class cricket, with an average of almost
50 runs per innings.
Till the mid-1990s, Sri Lanka was not a major force to reckon with in international cricket. However, in Tillakaratne’s opinion, becoming the world champions turned the fortunes for the Island as every youngster wanted to become a
cricket star. The former left-hander revealed that there was no proper structure of domestic sport in the country prior to 1996.
“After 1996, cricket became a religion in Sri Lanka. All the kids want to play the game and they look up to the national players. The infrastructure has developed a lot since our playing days, and cricket is headed in the right direction
as far as I can see,” the former Lankan captain added.
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