Sangakkara banks on home advantage at ICC World Twenty20 Sri Lanka 2012

ICC Media Release

Sri Lanka batsman and wicket-keeper Kumar Sangakkara believes playing at home will give his side added inspiration to win the ICC World Twenty20 Sri Lanka 2012.

Speaking to ICC Cricket 360, the ICC’s new weekly multi-platform show produced by IMG (part of IMG Worldwide), Sangakkara says knowledge of home conditions will be added advantage for the event in September.

“I think we have got some great players. Whoever makes that the final squad will be the best available players to make up the combination to help us win the ICC World Twenty20. Knowing our conditions, playing at home is going to be an added buzz and an added inspiration,” says Sangakkara.

However, Sangakkara thinks preparation for the tournament is going to be the key for Sri Lanka during the tournament.

“Preparation is going to be very important. Then it becomes less of a lottery and more about performing consistently. Of course T20 changes in a matter of a couple of deliveries and an over here or there can shift momentum or you can also lose your game,” he says.

Sangakkara, who, along with Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardena, shows off their restaurant in Colombo in the latest edition of the ICC Cricket 360 show, admits he feels lucky to have played in an era in which his team has done well both home and away.

“Playing two ICC Cricket World Cup finals and an ICC World Twenty20 final has been incredible,” says Sangakkara.

Jaywardena echoes Sangakkara’s views as he credits the spirit in Sri Lanka team for all the success in the last decade.

Also featuring in the sixth edition of ICC Cricket 360 is a piece on the Emirates Elite Panel of Umpires and Match Referees workshop, a feature on the Olympic Games re-match between France and the MCC, and a profile on the Phoenix Cricket Club in Dublin, Ireland. The show also profiles New Zealand’s William Young and Jacob Duffy who will be playing at the ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup.