The ‘Mendis Specials’ are here to stay
In June 2021, a video went viral that showed Kusal Mendis and Niroshan Dickwella out in public. Danushka Gunathilaka was not in the frame but was later confirmed to have been there.
This was serious because Sri Lankan players were warned not to breach the Covid-19 bio security bubble that was in place during the England series that year. They violated that rule. They were immediately recalled and handed out a one-year ban from all forms of cricket.
The ban came off six months later. And today, Mendis has become the cornerstone of Sri Lanka’s batting while the other two perished with the passage of time. His comeback has been impressive–he is among the two top run-scorers for Sri Lanka across all formats.
His averages of 43.90, 42.32 and 30.50 since returning in Tests, ODIs and T20s, respectively, compared to his performance during the incident in England speaks volumes about how he has gone about his business.
Although it’s early in the tournament, the two knocks that he constructed in Delhi and Hyderabad against two quality bowling sides, South Africa and Pakistan, indicated that the 28-year-old has finally reached the big league with a bang.
Against South Africa, Sri Lanka were chasing a mammoth total. But Mendis knew what he was doing. He hit the ball with such withering power that it left even the opposing side cricketers in awe. He relied on strokes rather than clubbing the ball and executed this with uncomplicated conviction.
Mendis is not someone who will build an innings gradually. He tears the attack apart by taking on the bowlers if the ball is in the right place.
Following his blistering half century in the opening game, Mendis reached three figures in double quick-time in a record 65 balls in the next game. It was the fastest 100 in a World Cup game by a Sri Lankan, surpassing Kumar Sangakkara’s 70-ball knock in the 2015 edition against Afghanistan.
“Kusal Mendis (fire emoji) what a knock,” India batter, Suryakumar Yadav, who seems in complete awe of Mendis’ outstanding performance on X (formerly twitter) posted.
Mendis’ onslaughts against the highly accomplished South African and Pakistan attack were as good as that of Quinton de Kock’s consecutive centuries, if not better. No one has hit more sixes than him in the tournament so far, going over the ropes 14 times. Against South Africa, he parked eight sixes that sailed well over the boundary. His boundary count in the tournament is 18.
Speaking before the opener, Mendis said he had set personal milestones to achieve in the tournament and that he wants his bat to do the talking.
“He has grown very quickly, matured and he understands,” said former Sri Lanka great Mahela Jayawardena of Mendis.
“The best thing with him is that he’s managed to block all the other elements in the last few years. That’s been his strength and he’s learned how to do that. Just focus on his game and how he wants to play cricket. We’ve encouraged him to play the brand that he wants to play.”
Jayawardena has been the consultant to Sri Lanka Cricket during the past few years.
“He can destroy an attack if he wants to at any given time. He’s a good player of fast bowling and a decent player of spin. I still challenge him. I think he can still get better playing spin. He has not fully achieved his potential in how he goes about playing spin. He can definitely improve on that,” Jayawardena explained, adding that he wants everyone in the Sri Lanka cricket system to be challenged as Mendis, the modern-day cricketer.
Jayawardena, one of three Sri Lankans to have scored over 12,000 ODI runs, has further advice to the player.
“There’s a long way for him to go and I’m hoping that we haven’t seen the best of him yet. He also has to understand that he can’t be complacent. He has to keep evolving and getting better because you will go through periods where you might not score runs. He has to keep improving and evolving,” he stressed.
Mendis’ form had dipped earlier this year. But during the Asia Cup, the former Prince of Wales College cricketer struck form. Now, at the World Cup, he is clearly making a statement. His return to form has been a major boost for Sri Lankan cricket. He is one of the most talented batsmen in the world. If he can maintain his current form, Mendis could be a key player for Sri Lanka for years to come.
In addition to his on-field performances, Mendis has also shown maturity and responsibility since his return. He has apologised for his past disciplinary issues, and has said he is committed to being a good role model to his teammates.
His story is a reminder that everyone makes mistakes and that it is possible to learn from them and to come back stronger. Mendis is now a more mature and responsible player, and he is determined to make up for the time he lost during his ban.
“He is learning and he’s adjusting with experience. He had a bad run not so long ago and closer to the Asia Cup, he started scoring runs again and then continuously putting runs on the board,” said Naveed Nawaz, the team’s assistant coach.