Narendra Modi praises Sangakkara, says the cricket great will be missed

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi today praised recently retired Sri Lankan cricketer Kumar Sangakkara, considered one of the greatest batsmen to have emerged from Sri Lanka, saying the left-hander will be missed.

"We just finished an absorbing test series. We shall all miss the great Kumar Sangakkara on the cricket field," Modi said during a joint press briefing with Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe.

Sangakkara, who bade adieu to the game after the second Test against India last month, was one of the leading players in world cricket for the last 15 years during which he played 134 Tests scoring 12,400 runs. He had also represented the island nation in 404 ODIs and scored 14,234 runs.

The stylish left-hander led Sri Lanka in 15 Tests, 45 ODIs and 22 ODIs. One of his finest hours came when he inspired Sri Lanka to the final of the ICC Cricket World Cup in 2011.

Earlier Modi held extensive talks with Wickremesinghe to take the bilateral relationship to the next level.