SL's sports minister urges Sangakkara to reconsider Test retirement plans and play on for another year

Sri Lanka's sports minister has urged their batting great Kumar Sangakkara to reconsider his plans to retire from Test cricket and appealed to the former skipper that he should play on for another year.

Navin Dissanayake revealed that he hoped a government-ordered overhaul of Sri Lanka Cricket might persuade the veteran batsman to stick around a bit longer after he again underlined his class at the World Cup.

Dissanayake said that as sports minister, he humbly appeals to Sangakkara to reconsider retirement and play for the country for at least one more year, Sport24 reported.

Dissanayake said that he hoped that the appointment of an interim management team, headed by former Test player Sidath Wettimuny, would demonstrate the new government's determination to clean up the governing body which has been beset by accusations of corruption and mismanagement.

The minister said that he spoke with Sangakkara in New Zealand during the World Cup, adding that the former skipper was very disappointed and unhappy with the cricket administration and now that there is a change, he believes that there is a possibility that the batsman would change his mind.

Dissanayake said that he had asked Wettimuny to talk to Sangakkara about staying on after the left-hander's outstanding performances at the World Cup.

Sangakarra scored an unprecedented four successive ODI hundreds during the tournament in Australia and New Zealand, racking up a total of 541 in seven innings at an average of over 108.

As well as being the number one batsman in the world rankings for Test cricket, the former captain is also the number two in the ODI rankings, the report added.