The Balapuwaduge: He is a professional cricketer from Sri Lanka who plays as a top-order batsman in all forms of the game. He is currently the captain of the national one-day international side. Kusal Gimhan Mendis is most well known by his nickname, Kusal Mendis. Before he participated in the national team, he had only played sixteen matches in the first-class competition. At Sri Lanka Cricket’s annual awards ceremony, which took place in November 2017, he was honored with the title of One Day International (ODI) batsman of the year for the 2016–17 season.
In addition to being named the schoolboy cricketer of the year in 2013, Mendis had previously served as captain of the national junior squad as well as the Prince of Wales College, Moratuwa side during his formative years. The selection of Mendis to Dambulla’s team for the 2017–18 Super Four Provincial Tournament took place in March of 2018. He was also selected to be a member of Dambulla’s team for the 2018 Super Provincial One Day Tournament, which took place the following month.
The selection of Mendis to Galle’s team for the 2018 SLC T20 League took place in August of 1998. He scored 182 runs throughout six matches, making him the player with the most runs scored for Galle in the competition. The announcement that he will be a member of Galle’s team for the 2019 Super Provincial One Day Tournament came in March of this year. Mendis scored 139 runs against Ragama Cricket Club during the 2019–20 Premier League Tournament. The match was won by an innings and 125 runs. Mendis’s performance was vital in the victory.
Mendis achieved his first-ever double-century in a first-class match, which he struck against Nondescripts Cricket Club. To draw the match, his undefeated double-century was a contributing factor. Another century was made by Mendis in the last match, which was played against Chilaw Marians Cricket Club. He finished with 157 runs. The Kandy Tuskers selected Mendis in the draft for the first-ever Lanka Premier League competition, which took place in October 2020. His selection to play for the Galle Gladiators in the 2021 Lanka Premier League came about as a result of the players’ draft that took place in November of that year.
Kusal Mendis Biography
| Name | Kusal Mendis |
| Full Name | Balapuwaduge Kusal Gimhan Mendis |
| Date of Birth | 2 February 1995 |
| Place of Birth | Moratuwa, Sri Lanka |
| Other Names | NA |
| Nationality | Srilankan |
| Father’s Name | Dinesh Mendis |
| Mother’s Name | NA |
| Siblings | NA |
| Spouse | Travis Alabanza |
| Marriage Date | 12 February 2021 |
| Children | NA |
| Role | Batting |
| Batting | Right-handed |
| Bowling | Right-arm off-break |
| ODI Debut | June 16, 2016 vs. Ireland |
| Test Debut | October 22, 2015 vs. West Indies |
| T20 Debut | July 05, 2016 vs. England |
| Favourite Food | NA |
| Favourite Actor | NA |
| Favourite Actress | NA |
| Favourite Colour | Blue |
| Retirement | Still Playing |
The Galle Gladiators decided to contract him in July 2022 so that he could participate in the third season of the Lanka Premier League. Mendis scored 80 runs from 41 deliveries in the SA20 match that took place on February 7, 2023, against Paarl Royals. He struck eight boundaries and four sixes throughout the match. Mandis was named the player of the match as a result of his knock, which contributed to Pretoria Capitals’ victory in the match by 59 runs. During the 2014 ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup, Mendis served as the captain of Sri Lanka’s youth cricket team.
He earned his Sri Lankan cap during the second test of the Sobers-Tissera Trophy, making him the 132nd player to ever represent Sri Lanka in a test match. It was during the second test match of the West Indies tour of Sri Lanka in 2015 that he made his debut in the test match. He scored 13 runs in the first innings and 39 runs in the second innings. In the first test, Mendis recorded a duck in the first innings, but in the second innings, he scored his first test half-century with 53 runs. Mendis was selected for the Sri Lankan team that would go to England for the tour.
It was against Ireland on June 16, 2016, that Mendis made his debut in the One-Day International (ODI) format. He scored his first ODI fifty during the match. During the same tour, Mendis made his debut for Sri Lanka in a Twenty20 International (T20I) match against England on July 5, 2016. During the first test match, which took place at the Pallekele Cricket Stadium on July 28, 2016, Mendis achieved his first century in a test match. Not only did he become the youngest Sri Lankan to ever make a century against Australia, but he also achieved the greatest score ever against Australia inside of Sri Lankan territory.
The victory for Sri Lanka, which was just their second victory in a test match against Australia, came by a score of 106 runs. For his outstanding performance, Mendis was awarded the title of Man of the Match. Mendis made 94 runs in the fifth match of the Tri-series between Zimbabwe and the West Indies. The match took place in Zimbabwe. As a result of Niroshan Dickwella’s fifty and 94 runs, Sri Lanka was able to score 330 runs off of fifty overs, which was the highest total that Sri Lanka had ever scored against the West Indies.
Batting & Fielding Stats
| FORMAT | Mat | Inns | NO | Runs | HS | Ave | BF | SR | 100s | 50s | 4s | 6s | Ct | St |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tests | 63 | 118 | 4 | 4112 | 245 | 36.07 | 7213 | 57.00 | 9 | 18 | 498 | 42 | 93 | 0 |
| ODIs | 130 | 127 | 10 | 3859 | 122 | 32.98 | 4456 | 86.60 | 3 | 29 | 383 | 69 | 89 | 7 |
| T20Is | 67 | 67 | 2 | 1629 | 86 | 25.06 | 1212 | 134.40 | 0 | 14 | 136 | 74 | 25 | 5 |
| FC | 97 | 173 | 9 | 6489 | 245 | 39.56 | 10814 | 60.00 | 16 | 26 | 769 | 75 | 131 | 8 |
| List A | 165 | 161 | 11 | 4722 | 122 | 31.48 | 5480 | 86.16 | 4 | 33 | 453 | 92 | 115 | 12 |
| T20s | 142 | 140 | 7 | 3955 | 100* | 29.73 | 2882 | 137.23 | 1 | 30 | 348 | 171 | 56 | 9 |
Bowling
| FORMAT | Mat | Inns | Balls | Runs | Wkts | BBI | BBM | Ave | Econ | SR | 4w | 5w | 10w |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tests | 63 | 9 | 132 | 118 | 1 | 1/10 | 1/18 | 118.00 | 5.36 | 132.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ODIs | 130 | 2 | 20 | 28 | 0 | – | – | – | 8.40 | – | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| T20Is | 67 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| FC | 97 | 19 | 272 | 242 | 2 | 1/10 | 1/14 | 121.00 | 5.33 | 136.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| List A | 165 | 4 | 33 | 35 | 2 | 2/3 | 2/3 | 17.50 | 6.36 | 16.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| T20s | 142 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | – | – | – | – | – | 0 | 0 | 0 |
His batting performance earned Mendis the title of man of the match, and Sri Lanka emerged victorious in the match by a single run. The victory led Sri Lanka to advance to the final match against Zimbabwe. Mendis struck another fifty in the championship match, which led to the team’s victory in the series by a margin of six wickets. He received his first Player of the Series title as a result of his overall performance during the series. At Galle, during the first test match against Bangladesh, Mendis earned his second century in a test match. He came close to achieving his double hundred by just six runs. Before Tamim Iqbal caught him, he had a score of 194 before him.
At the Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium on March 28, 2017, Mendis earned his first one-day international century, which was 102 runs, during the second one-day international match against Bangladesh. As a consequence of the severe rain, the match was unable to produce a result. Mendis struck 89 runs to win the match for Sri Lanka on June 8, 2017, while they were competing against India in the 2017 ICC Champions Trophy. This was the match that Sri Lanka ultimately won.
