Kusal

Mendis

Kusal Mendis Biography and Career

A high-quality right-handed batsman who is known for his smart stroke play and ability to anchor innings, Kusal Mendis is a prominent figure in Sri Lankan cricket. His aggressive batting style and significant contributions to the national team have made him an important player in Sri Lanka’s squad.

His journey to playing for the national team started very early. He had played only 16 first-class matches before playing for Sri Lanka. After his strong performances in his Under-19 career, Mendis became the 132nd Test player for Sri Lanka. In the 2014 ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup, he was the captain of the team.

He is also an occasional wicket keeper which makes him a versatile member of the Sri Lankan team. Because of his aggressive batting style and mature approach, he has also been compared to legendary Sri Lankan cricketers.

While his debut Test game against West Indies in 2015 did not go well, his first breakthrough innings came in 2016 in a match against Australia, where he scored his first Test century. He became the youngest Sri Lankan player to hit a century against Australia and also the highest score (176) against Australia on home soil.

In the same year, Mendis made his One Day International (ODI) debut against Ireland on June 16, 2016 and scored his first ODI fifty.

During the 2016-17 Tri-series in Zimbabwe against the West Indies, Mendis played match-winning innings in the fifth match, hitting 94 runs. Sri Lanka later posted 330 runs on the scoreboard, which was recorded as the highest total by Sri Lanka against the West Indies. His impressive performances in the series gave him his first Player of the Series award.

His first ODI century came in 2017 against Bangladesh where he scored 102 runs at a strike rate of 95.32. His match-winning performances continued and his highest score of 143 in ODIs came against New Zealand in 2024.

Mendis's match-winning performances brought him the ODI batsman of the year for the 2016–17 season at Sri Lanka Cricket's annual awards.

His exceptional batting skill led him to play for the Twenty20 International (T20I) as well. He made his T20I debut for Sri Lanka against England on July 5, 2016, where he scored 21 off 16 deliveries.

Mendis's match-winning performance in the T20I came against Bangladesh in 2018. He scored 53 runs on 27 balls, chasing a score of 193, which was also recorded as the highest T20I chase by Sri Lanka. He was given the Player of the Match award. In the second game, he again scored a match-winning half-century and Sri Lanka posted 210 in their 20 overs. Sri Lanka won the series by 2-0 and Mendis won the Player of the Series award.

While he was delivering impressive performances continuously, there came a time when his performance declined. During the period of 2018-2020, his performance was not in form. He was completely out of form during the 2018 Asia Cup, where he got out for zero in both the matches against Bangladesh and Afghanistan. His place in the team was doubtful due to poor performances and he was dropped from the England tour to Sri Lanka.

His performance continued to fluctuate until he scored his second century in an ODI against West Indies in 2020. Sri Lanka posted a score of 345 runs and won the game by 161 runs.

There came a time in Mendis's life when he had to face a ban from playing international cricket for one year. On June 28, 2021, Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) suspended Mendis, along with Danushka Gunathilaka and Niroshan Dickwella, after they breached the team's bio-secure bubble during Sri Lanka's tour of England, however, SLC lifted the ban early, ending the punishment in January 2022.

Just after the ban on February 20, 2022, Mendis proved his worth of being a valuable player for the team as he scored a match-winning 69 runs against Australia, which helped Sri Lanka to win the match by five wickets, with him being named the Player of the Match. Mendis was also given the ODI captaincy in 2023 after regular skipper Dasun Shanaka was ruled out of the 2023 Cricket World Cup due to surgery.

Mendis's journey as a cricketer has been marked by rapid growth and significant achievements. While there were some highs and lows in his career, like every cricketer, he continued to perform exceptionally well for his team. Despite going through a fatal car accident in 2020, Mendis has shown resilience and continued to improve his game.

Beyond Cricket

Outside cricket, Kusal Mendis is a private person who values ​​his family and close friends. He enjoys spending time with his loved ones and often shares moments of family gatherings on social media.

He got married to Nishelle Fernandez on February 12, 2021, and in June next year, the couple welcomed a baby girl. Mendis often shares moments of his quality time spent with his wife and kid on Instagram.

Mendis is also passionate about fitness and often engages in strict training sessions to maintain his physical condition. He sometimes shares glimpses of his training session on social media.

He has also been engaged in social work events. The Sri Lankan cricketer has been involved with the Indira Cancer Trust and Suwa Arana. He visited there in an activity organized by the New Zealand High Commission to Sri Lanka.

Apart from cricket, Mendis has been involved in some of the brand endorsements such as Gray-Nicolls (a cricket equipment brand) and Dialog Axiata (telecommunications company).

Kusal Mendis Records
Kusal Mendis Test Records: 

• Youngest Sri Lankan cricketer to score a century against Australia (2016): Scored 176 runs on 254 balls in Pallekele, Sri Lanka.

• Second player to reach 1,000 Test runs in the calendar year 2018: Finished 2018 as the second-highest run-scorer in Test cricket (after Virat Kohli), with 1,023 runs, including 3 centuries and 4 fifties.

• Notable achievement (2023): Best batting figure of 245 against Ireland.

Kusal Mendis ODI Records:

• Joint-second fastest Sri Lankan cricketers to score 1,000 ODI runs (2017): Achieved this feat in 28 innings. Shares the spot with Upul Tharanga who also scored in 28 innings.

• 10th highest strike rate in an ODI innings (2018): Hit 28 runs in 9 balls, achieving the strike rate of 311.11 in a match against Bangladesh.

Kusal Mendis T20I Records: 

• Notable achievement (2024): Scored 86 runs of 55 balls in a match against Bangladesh, highest in his T20I career.