Pasqual Handi Kamindu Dilanka Mendis (Sinhala: පැස්කුවල් හන්දි කමිඳු දිලංක මෙන්ඩිස්, [ˈkamiⁿd̪uMenɖis][n. 1]; born 30 September 1998), popularly known as Kamindu Mendis, is a professional Sri Lankan cricketer who plays for the national team in all three formats and for Colombo Cricket Club in domestic cricket.[1] He is an ambidextrous bowler who can bowl both right and left-arm deliveries during the same over.[2][3][4] He made his international debut for the Sri Lanka cricket team in October 2018.
In October 2018, he was named in Sri Lanka's Twenty20 International (T20I) squad for the one-off match against England.[23] He made his T20I debut for Sri Lanka against England on 27 October 2018.[24] He scored 24 runs in the match.
In May 2022, he was named in Sri Lanka's Test squad for their series against Bangladesh.[33] The following month, he was named in the Sri Lanka A squad for their matches against Australia A during Australia's tour of Sri Lanka.[34] Later the same month, he was named in Sri Lanka's Test squad, also for their home series against Australia.[35] He made his Test debut on 8 July 2022, for Sri Lanka against Australia.[36] In the match, he scored his maiden Test fifty and made a match-winning partnership of 133-runs with centurion Dinesh Chandimal.[37] Sri Lanka won the match by an innings and 39 runs, their first innings victory in Test cricket against Australia.[38][39] In 2024 in the 3rd T20I against Afghanistan, Mendis scored an unbeaten fighting knock of 65 runs in a losing cause.[40]
Against Bangladesh in March 2024, Mendis scored 102 in the first innings and made a 202-run sixth-wicket stand with the skipper Dhananjaya de Silva, who also scored a century.[41] Both of them were dismissed for 102, where Sri Lanka posted 280 runs in the first innings. In the second innings, Mendis scored another century and made another century stand with de Silva, who also made a century.[42] This was only the third instance, where two players from the same team made twin hundreds in a Test match. Mendis scored 164 which included 16 fours and 6 sixes, where Sri Lanka posted. Finally, Sri Lanka won the match by 328 runs.[43] With twin hundreds, Mendis also became the first batter with two hundreds in a Test while batting at No. 7 or lower. His total of 266 runs is the second-most by any batter while batting at No. 7 or lower in a Test match only behind Don Bradman's 270 runs against England in the 1937 Melbourne Test.[44]
In the second test, he made an unbeaten 92 runs in the first innings, where he was able to equal the world record for the most runs in the first four innings of the career with 419 along with Pakistani Javed Miandad. Sri Lanka piled 531 runs on the board, which is the highest total in a Test innings without a single century.[45] Eventually, Sri Lanka won the match by 192-runs and completed series 2-0, where Mendis adjudged the player of the series for impressive 367 runs and 3 wickets.[46]
In the England series, Mendis scored his third century and made a 117-run stand with Dinesh Chandimal. Despite his knock, Sri Lanka lost the match by 5 wickets.[47][48] His batting average of 92.16 after the Test, is recorded as the second-highest in Test history among players with more than 500 runs.[49] In the second Test match, Mendis scored 74 runs and briefly lifted his Test average back above 100 - with his sixth fifty-plus score in only eight Test innings. However, Sri Lanka lost the match by 190 runs and also the series.[50] In the third Test, he again scored a fifty and helped to score a total of 263 for Sri Lanka. With an impressive fast bowling display from Sri Lankan pacers and a century by Pathum Nissanka, Sri Lanka won the match by 8 wickets and ended the series on a high note. Mendis was again adjudged as the player of the series along with England batter Joe Root for scoring 267 runs with 53.40 average and strike rate of 63.[51][52]
In the first test against New Zealand in Galle, Mendis scored his fourth century and made a 72-run partnership with Angelo Mathews and then 103 runs with Kusal Mendis. Sri Lanka made 305 runs in the first innings. In the second test, he notched up an unbeaten 182 and became the fastest Asian and 3rd fastest overall joint with Sir Don Bradman to reach 1000 test runs in just 13 innings only behind Herbert Sutcliffe and Everton Weekes.[53][54] Nine times in his 13 innings he crossed 50, five times crossed 100, and twice went past 150. On the course, he become the fastest batter of the 21st century to 1000 runs as well.[55] Mendis also became the first player with a fifty-plus score in each of his first eight Test matches as well as his average of 91.27 is the second-highest among players with 1000-plus runs, behind only Bradman's 99.94.[56] Sri Lanka eventually won the match by an innings and 154 runs and Mendis was adjudged as the man of the match.[57][58]
