KOCHI: Former Sri Lankan cricketer Kumar Sangakkara is busy these days preparing Team Abu Dhabi for the upcoming T10 cricket league thanks to his role as their mentor.
While the T10 format will get a boost with the likes of Sangakkara getting involved, the longest format of the game got another shot in the arm when India and Australia played out an enthralling draw in Sydney.
However, the allegations of racist abuse hurled by spectators at the Sydney Cricket Ground against Indian players Mohammed Siraj and Jasprit Bumrah highlighted a darker side to the game which hasn't been weeded out.
Sangakkara admitted that although he couldn't watch the game, he was keeping a tab on the incidents from Australia.
"I did read about what happened with the crowd and the Indian team in the last couple of days. And racism of any sort in any country in any manner has to be decried and condemned. And those responsible for it have to be sternly punished and action taken against them. In my time touring in Australia, I was fortunate that I never came across any kind of racial abuse. I can't speak about other players in the side but I personally have not been victimised in terms of racial slurs or racial abuse. That's true in most countries or every country that I toured during my time," said Sangakkara when asked if he ever faced any racial abuse during a virtual media interaction.
Talking about the third Test between India and Australia besides the racist incident, Sangakkara said these are the kind of games that act as an endorsement for Test cricket.
"When you have a day like today or the time when West Indies chased 418-odd in the fourth innings against Australia. I think there is nothing better to promote a particular format," he said.
However, for the former wicket-keeper batsman, the focus is firmly on T10 and he was excited at his new mentoring role.
"There have been a lot of opportunities that did come my way but time commitments and family commitments really precluded me from really taking up those offers. It's a role that I'm really passionate about and it's an experience that I find very challenging and interesting. And whether this will lead to something more, we'll have to wait and see," he said.
He will be coaching the likes of Chris Gayle and Alex Hales for Abu Dhabi and while Gayle recently called for T10 cricket to be included in the Olympics, Sagakkara said that it might take some time.
"I think there is a lot of work to be done to get cricket into the Olympics. The ICC has to have a good solid push and it has to be a format that fits that sweet spot of timing and time limits and really entertains and engages the Olympic viewer," he said.
Having said that, Sangakkara believes that the influence of shorter formats on the longer formats is evident.
"Even on a dire last day batting to survive, you had batsmen like (Rishabh) Pant upping the ante and it's great to watch batsmen like that bat with the traditional ones like Pujara. It's great to see how beautifully two different players with two different mindsets and techniques can co-exist in one team and it's the same for the formats as well."