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Here is captain Virat Kohli's special message to Kumar Sangakkara

Colombo, Aug 24: Sri Lanka's Kumar Sangakkara bid adieu to international cricket yesterday (August 23) and tributes are still pouring in for one of the greats of the game. India captain Virat Kohli too joined in to hail the left-hander as he wrote a special message.

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At Colombo's P Sara Oval on Sunday, Sangakkara played his last international innings during the 4th day of the 2nd Test against India. As in the 1st innings, Team India gave a guard of honour as he walked into bat. (Tributes from Twitter)

Kohli's message to Sangakkara. Photo from BCCI's Twitter page

Much to the disappointment of the home fans, Sangakkara departed for a run-a-ball 18. Each and every Indian player shook hands with the 37-year-old as he made his way back to the pavilion.

Former and present cricketers took to social media to praise Sangakkara. Now, Kohli has penned a special tribute, which was shared by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on its Twitter page today. ('Sangakkara is equal with Bradman')

The Indian skipper said he was lucky to have played in the same era as Sangakkara's. He added that it was an "absolute pleasure" to have known him as a person.

Kohli shakes hands with Sangakkara after the Sri Lankan was dismissed for 18 in his final innings

In his message, Kohli wrote, "Dear Kumar, It's been an absolute pleasure knowing you as a person first and no words can explain your great cricketing achievements. You have inspired so many people and shown team them the way. Lucky to have played in the same era as you. Thanks for everything. God bless you and your family and wish you the best in life ahead."

Before the start of the series, Kohli had said he has a "great relationship" with Sangakkara. He had called him a "great man and a great cricketer".

"They (Sri Lanka) are going to dearly miss him. I have had a great relationship with him as well. Whenever we have played against each other, we have had conversations and he is someone who will always talk about cricket and always willing to help the younger players around. Great man, great cricketer. So, he deserves a very good farewell. So we will prepare accordingly," Kohli had said.

Sangakkara had retired from ODIs after the 2015 World Cup. He played 404 ODIs, 134 Tests and 56 T20Is. He scored over 27,000 international runs with 63 centuries (38 in Tests, 25 in ODIs).

OneIndia News

Story first published: Thursday, August 3, 2017, 7:27 [IST]
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