[3][4] A left arm orthodox spinner, left handed batter and a dynamic fielder, Jayasuriya together with his opening partner Romesh Kaluwitharana is credited for having revolutionized one-day international cricket with his explosive batting in the mid-1990s, which initiated the hard-hitting modern-day batting strategy of all nations.

Considered one of the greatest attacking batsmen of all time, Jayasuriya is well known for his powerful striking and match-winning all-round performances in all formats of the game.

Along with his opening partner Romesh Kaluwitharana, Jayasuriya revolutionized One Day International batting with his aggressive tactics during the 1996 Cricket World Cup, a strategy they first tried on the preceding tour of Australia.

This was a novel but potentially match-winning tactic at that time, and Sri Lanka, who had previously never made it out of the preliminary rounds, went on to win the World Cup without a single defeat.

He was one of the key players in Sri Lanka's victory in the 1996 Cricket World Cup, where he was adjudged Man of the Tournament in recognition of his all-around contributions.

His philosophy towards batting is summarized by an all-aggression approach and over the years he has dominated almost every one-day bowling combination that he has faced at one stage or another.

When asked in an interview who are the most challenging bowlers he had faced in the game, he named in the order Wasim Akram, Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath, Courtney Walsh, Curtly Ambrose.

One of Jayasuriya's memorable bowling performances came in the semi-final of 1996 Cricket World Cup, where he took three wickets for just 12 runs in seven overs.

It was Jayasuriya who took the vital wicket of Sachin Tendulkar and broke his crucial partnership with Sanjay Manjrekar, which was taking the game away from Sri Lankans at one stage.

Jayasuriya was the most successful bowler for Sri Lanka during the knockout stage of 1996 cricket World Cup where he took 6 wickets in three games.

Sanath Jayasuriya held the record for the highest Test score made by a Sri Lankan, 340 against India in 1997.

Both records were surpassed in July 2006 when fellow Sri Lankan Mahela Jayawardene scored 374 as part of a 624-run partnership with Kumar Sangakkara against South Africa.

Jayasuriya announced his intention to retire from Test cricket following the Pakistan tour of Sri Lanka in April 2006.

His fastest 50 stayed 19 years, where his half-century is regarded as the best because he achieved this feat in an era where no fielding restrictions and power plays are available.

[28] His international career has been revived at the age of 41, after being recalled to the One-day and Twenty-20 squads for Sri Lanka's 2011 tour of England and Scotland.

He also shares a dubious record with James Anderson for having the most expensive figures in a Twenty20 international, having been hit for 64 runs in the maximum of 4 overs.

After scoring a devastating 114 not out off just 48 balls[37] for the Mumbai Indians against Chennai, Jayasuriya regained his position in the one-day side after he had been dropped for the West Indies tour.

He then followed up his century with a 17-ball 48 not out to surpass the Kolkata Knight Riders' score of 67 in just the 6th over, resulting in the biggest victory in Twenty20 history in terms of balls remaining.

Jayasuriya led Sri Lanka to the knock-out stage of the 2003 cricket world cup but stepped down from the captaincy after the loss to Australia in the semi-final.

He regularly helped to decrease the workloads of contemporary Sri Lankan strike bowlers Muttiah Muralitharan and Chaminda Vaas.

[42] Jayasuriya was appointed as the chairman of selectors of national cricket team on 28 January 2013 by sports minister Mahindananda Aluthgamage.

The selection panel included Jayasuriya, Pramodya Wickramasinghe, Eric Upashantha, Chaminda Mendis and Hemantha Wickramaratne.

[52] Through all those defeats and failures, Sri Lanka had a silver line, where they first marked a whitewash against Australia in Warne-Murali Trophy and Zimbabwe Tri-series.

With that, on 29 August 2017, Jayasuriya with his panel Ranjith Madurasinghe, Romesh Kaluwitharana, Asanka Gurusinha and Eric Upashantha resigned from the selection committee after heavy loss to India in both tests and ODIs.

[56][57] Having been interim head coach of Sri Lanka since July 2024, Jayasuriya was given the job on a full-time basis in October that year.

[58] In an autobiography published by former Sri Lankan cricketer and match referee Roshan Mahanama in 2001, he claimed that former Australian fast bowler Glenn McGrath racially abused Sanath Jayasuriya by calling him a "black monkey" during an ODI match between Sri Lanka and Australia in 1996.

The accusations related to "failure or refusal to co-operate" with an ongoing ICC investigation into alleged match-fixing and "concealing, tampering with or destroying any documentation or other information that may be relevant".

[66] In February 2019, Jayasuriya was banned for two years in taking part in any cricket-related activity by the International Cricket Council's (ICC) anti-corruption unit, after he failed to co-operate in a corruption investigation.

ICC later pointed out that he could still watch matches in the pavilion as a casual fan and barred him from entering teams dressing rooms.

[69][70][71] Sanath is the first cricketer to be appointed as a UN Goodwill Ambassador (by UNAIDS, Geneva) for his commitment to the prevention of HIV/AIDS among young people in Sri Lanka.