Full Name Balapuwaduge Kusal Gimhan Mendis
Born February 2, 1995
Height 5 ft 7 in (1.71 m)
Nationality Sri Lanka
Role Batsman/Right-handed, Wicket-keeper, Right-arm leg spin Bowler
Relation(s) Dinesh Mendis (Father)
Kusal Mendis is a Sri Lankan cricketer, who was born on 2 February 1995 in Moratuwa. He is a wicketkeeper batsman who plays in all forms of the game.
He is one of those cricketers who has showed a lot of promise at a very young age after the void left by the retirements of Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara.
His phenomenal hundred in the test against Australia in 2016 is a clear example of his ability to take the Sri Lankan cricket forward.
Background
He was the Schoolboy of the Year in 2013 while playing for Prince of Wales College. He was named the captain for Sri Lanka Under-19 in the 2014 ICC U-19 World Cup.
Debut
After an experience of just 16 first-class matches, Kusal was given the opportunity to make his international debut. He played his first test against West Indies on 22 October 2015. He scored 13 runs in the first innings and 39 runs in the second innings.
He followed it with his first fifty in tests in the second innings of the first test against England at Leeds.
His ODI debut came against Ireland in 2016, where he scored 51 runs.
Rise to Glory
Mendis made his mark in the international arena with a scintillating hundred in the first test against Australia in 2016. His innings helped Sri Lanka secure only their second test win against Australia.
Mendis was named ‘Player of the series’ in the tri-series in 2016 where Zimbabwe and West Indies were the other two teams.
In the first test of the home test series against Bangladesh in 2017, he scored a magnificent 194 to guide his team to a victory. He continued his good form in the ODI series, where he scored his first ODI hundred at Dambulla.
Records
With his first test hundred, Mendis became the youngest Sri Lankan to score a test hundred against Australia.
