One of those great batsman-keeper combos, Kusal Mendis, is a promising prospect for Sri Lanka in the post-Sangakkara-Jayawardene era.
He shot to prominence with his Schoolboy of the Year award in 2013 and the following season. The national selectors awarded the captaincy of the under-19s for the 2014 World Cup. His Test cap soon followed in the home series against the West Indies.
Kusal Mendis Bio
| Full Name | Balpuwaduge Kusal Gimhan Mendis |
| Nick Name | Mendis |
| Place of Birth | Moratuwa Sri-Lanka |
| Date of Birth | February 02, 1995 |
| Age | 28 Years |
| Batting Style | Right Handed Bat |
| Bowling Style | N/A |
| Role in Team | Batter |
| Zodiac Sign | Aquarius |
| Hometown | Moratuwa Sri-Lanka |
| Religion | Christianity |
Net worth
| Salary | $ 62,750 approx. |
| Net Worth | $1 – $ 5 million |
Physical Measurements
| Height | 1.73 m |
| Weight | 68 Kg |
| Hair Color | Black |
| Eye Color | Black |
| Chest | Not Known |
| Biceps | Not Known |
| Waist | 30 Inches |
Family and Relationships
| Father Name | Dinesh Mendis |
| Mother Name | Not Known |
| Marital Status | Married |
| Wife | Travis Alabanza |
| Girlfriend | None |
| Son | None |
| Daughter | 1 |
| Siblings | Bol Mendis |
Teams Played for
| Sri-Lanka | Sri-Lanka U-19 | Sri-Lanka XI |
| Kandy Tuskers | Dambulla Giants | Galle Gladiators |
| Bloomfield Cricket and Athletic Club | Sri-Lanka A | Sri-Lanka A Emerging Players |
| Sri-Lanka U-23 |
Education
He graduated from the Prince of Wales College Moratuwa.
Career
A former national youth player and captain of Prince of Wales College, Moratuwa teams, Mendis was named schoolboy cricketer of the year in 2013. During the 2017-18 Super Four Provincial Tournament, Kusal Mendis was named in Dambulla’s squad.
The following month, he was also named to Dambulla’s squad for the 2018 Super Provincial One Day Tournament. As a member of Galle’s squad for the 2018 SLC T20 League, Mendis scored 182 runs in six matches. He was named to Galle’s Team for the 2019 Super Provincial One Day Tournament.
Mendis scored 139 against Ragama Cricket Club in the 2019-20 Premier League Tournament; innings and 125 runs won. Mendis also scored his maiden first-class double-century against Nondescripts Cricket Club.
For the inaugural edition of the Lanka Premier League in October 2020, Mendis was drafted by the Kandy Tuskers. Following the players’ draft for the Lanka Premier League in 2021, he was selected to play for the Galle Gladiators.
For the third edition of the Lanka Premier League, he was signed by the Galle Gladiators in July 2022.
International Cricket
Mendis captained Sri Lanka’s squad during the 2014 ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup. During the second Test of the Sobers-Tissera Trophy, he became Sri Lanka’s 132nd Test player. In the 2nd Test of the West Indies tour of Sri Lanka 2015, he scored 13 runs in the first innings and 39 runs in the second innings.
As a member of Sri Lanka’s squad for the tour of England, Mendis scored a duck in the first innings but 53 runs in the second innings to score his maiden test half-century.
In the same tour, Mendis made his One Day International (ODI) debut against Ireland on June 16, 2016, scoring his maiden ODI fifty. He made his Twenty20 International (T20I) debut against England on July 05, 2016.
Peak Performances
During the first Test against Australia at Pallekele Cricket Stadium on July 28, 2016, Mendis scored his maiden Test century. In addition to being the youngest Sri Lankan to score a century against Australia, he also scored the highest score against them on home soil.
Sri Lanka won the match by 106 runs, only their second win over Australia. He was adjured Man of the Match for his performance.
Mendis scored 94 runs against the West Indies in the fifth Tri-series match in Zimbabwe. With Niroshan Dickwella’s fifty and 94 runs, Sri Lanka scored 330 runs off 50 overs, the highest total by Sri Lanka against the West Indies.
As a result of this win, Sri Lanka reached the end with Zimbabwe by one run.
Mendis was the Player of the Match for his batting. The Team won the series by six wickets thanks to Mendis’ fifty in the final. He won his first Player of the Series award for his all-around performance.
In the first Test against Bangladesh at Galle, Mendis scored his second Test century, just six runs short of a double century. They scored 194 before Tamim Iqbal caught him.
On March 28, 2017, Mendis scored his maiden ODI century against Bangladesh at Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium with 102 runs. However, heavy rain caused the match to end without a result.
In the first Test against Bangladesh in 2018, Mendis scored his fourth Test century. On the third day of the match, his 23rd birthday, he scored a century. Mendis and Dhananjaya de Silva scored 308 runs together to take the second wicket until De Silva was dismissed for 173 runs.
Mendis was dismissed with 196 runs, just four short of his maiden double century. However, Mendis’ career-best score of 196 made him the second Sri Lankan after Kumar Sangakkara to be dismissed in the 190s at least twice.
Mendis was selected to the Sri Lanka T20I team in place of the injured Kusal Perera following strong Test performances against Bangladesh. He had a match-winning knock of 53 from 27 balls in the first game. In their 20 overs, Bangladesh scored 193, which was their most fantastic T20I total.
Danushka Gunathilaka and Mendis combined 53 runs for the first wicket in just 4.5 overs as they opened the batting. Mendis hit his first fifty in a Twenty20 encounter, and Sri Lanka won by six wickets. Sri Lanka also holds the record for the highest T20I chase with its 193-run chase.
Mendis was adjudged man of the match, his first in T20Is. In the second T20I, Mendis scored another match-winning half-century, and Sri Lanka posted 210 in their 20 overs. This is Sri Lanka’s highest T20I score against Bangladesh.
Finally, Sri Lanka won the match and series 2-0, and Mendis was awarded both Men of the Match and Player of the Series.
T20I
He was given a chance in the T20I format in 2016 against England at The Rose Bowl. In his T20I career, he has played 35 T20I matches and scored 681 runs at an average of 20.03 and a strike rate of 121.17.
ODI
He got his chance to play ODI cricket vs. Ire-Land at The Village in 2016. He has been allowed to represent Sri Lanka in 87 ODI matches until now, and he has managed to score 2546 runs at an average of 31.43 and with a strike rate of 84.56.
He also has two hundred in his career. He is more of an innings builder rather than an attacker when it comes to ODI cricket.
Test
He played his first Test match on the tour against West Indies 2015 at P Sara Oval. In the 103 innings of the 54 games he has played for Sri Lanka, he compiled 3402 runs at an average of 34.36. He also has seven centuries to his name. He is a must-name in Sri Lanka red ball cricket.
Awards
- Dialog Sri-Lankan Cricket ODI Batter of the year 2016-17.
- Dialog Sri-Lankan Cricket Future Cricketer of the year 2015-16.
- Mendis was adjudged the 2013 schoolboy cricketer of the year.
