May 6 (India Today) – Former Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara will continue to serve as the president of the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) for another year due to ‘extraordinary circumstances’ in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic
Kumar Sangakkara, who became the first non-British president of the MCC, has been offered the extension tenure by the MCC. The tenure of the MCC president is usually a year but it was extended to more than 1 year in the past during the 2 World Wars, the MCC said.
Since 1821, there have 168 presidents of the MCC and Sangakkara is all set to become only the 4th man to serve 2 terms as the president of the guardian of the Laws of the game.
“The disruption to the global cricketing landscape caused by the outbreak of Covid-19 Coronavirus has led the Committee to recommend that Sangakkara, who began his term of office on 1 October 2019, be invited to serve as President of the Club until 30 September 2021,” the MCC said in a release.
“The motion will need to be approved by the Club’s Members at the Annual General Meeting, which has been rescheduled to 24 June.
“Whilst Presidents of MCC only normally serve for a twelve-month period, it is not unprecedented for longer terms to be introduced to respond to extraordinary circumstances. During the First and Second World Wars, Lord Hawke (1914-18) and Stanley Christopherson (1939-45) served for longer periods.”
Sangakkara was already heavily involved with MCC and delivered a powerful and memorable MCC Cowdrey Lecture in 2011. He was awarded Honorary Life Membership of the Club in 2012 and joined MCC’s World Cricket committee the same year, and remains an active member.
In February 2020, he captained MCC on a seminal tour of Pakistan – the Club’s first tour to the country since 1973.
The aim of the visit was to encourage international teams to visit Pakistan once again, following a decade in which the country was starved of international cricket as a result of an attack targeting the team bus of the Sri Lankan tour squad, who included Sangakkara amongst their number.
