Sanath Jayasuriya is 40 years and 81 days today, but his current form makes it seem as if he is still in his 20s.
The balance that Jayasuriya maintains while playing his shots and the elegance with which he drives the ball to scorch it through mid-wicket is ample proof of the fact that he has not only lived to the tag of being the most experienced batsman in the game, but is still the best!
Although age catches up with most players, in the case of Jayasuriya it doesn't seem to have happened purely because of his dedication and determination to remain the best.
Watch Jayasuriya closely during training and it is evident that he puts in as much effort to maintain their fitness as they do to sharpen their skills
While Jayasuriya is at least a decade older than many of his team members, he does not shy away from competing with the youngsters during physical training. In fact, during the Twenty20 World Cup in England, he was seen performing more stretches than his team-mates.
Even in the nets, Jayasuriya's pull shots and on-drives are executed with incredible balance. His ability to pick the ball early on gives a feeling that he sights the ball better than others. Like Tendulkar, he too gets his pacers to bowl short at him and almost always gets behind the ball and hits it with immaculate perfection.
Off the field, he is a humble and simple cricketer with no airs of being the best in the game. During tours, he is hardly seen in the hotel lobby or even returning from late night parties. His main focus is performance.
Little wonder then that Jayasuriya has scored 13,433 runs in One-dayers. This Champions Trophy edition will be another opportunity to see him at his best.
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