“This needs to stop. Here he comes, there he goes. What’s the point?”
“But it’s not like he failed throughout the season. Just two innings, he will come good in the rest of the tournament”
“How long are you going to keep telling this to yourself. He has played more than 50+ ODIs. Still a disappointment. Drop him.”
“The kid is just 24 years old. Give him time.”
This not a conversation between two people. It’s every fan trying to justify Kusal Mendis’ performances to themselves. Mendis’ innings in Cardiff versus New Zealand and Afghanistan only lasted 3 balls. It’s been a letdown of the team and the player in this World Cup as Sri Lanka tries to forget move on from their poor record in the recent past.
They need their brightest star in the making to own the center stage and deliver like he did in 2016. Remember?
“I saw him, the way he batted against the mighty Australian attack was fabulous to watch, that’s something that I couldn’t dream of doing at that age or same stage of my career” – Kumar Sangakkara
“I know you shouldn’t say this as an opposition coach, but it was actually very good to watch, and very good for our players to watch and learn, I suppose, a little bit.” – Darren Lehmann
Traditionalism or fearlessness? Sri Lanka Cricket oblivious
As Sri Lanka is set to play one of the emerging giants in world cricket, Afghanistan, in their second…
These are few appreciative quotes from former players and coaches on Kusal Mendis’ breathtaking knock of 176 vs Australia in 2016, where no other batsmen could pass the 60-run mark in the match from either side. 21-year-old Mendis guided Sri Lanka to a historic Test win, changing the complexion of the whole series, from Sri Lanka trailing by a first innings deficit of 83 runs, to winning the whole thing 3-0.
Some believed (few still do) that he is the “prince who is promised”, a man born to reverse Sri Lanka’s fortunes in recent times. You can’t blame them for dreaming. If you have followed him since his time as a schoolboy, maybe you would be a dreamer too.
In 2013, Kusal was named the Schoolboy Cricketer of the Year and led the Sri Lanka youth team in the U19 World Cup in 2014. He was fast tracked into the Sri Lanka national set up after just 16 first class matches and debuted in 2015 when he was twenty years old.
His stature doesn’t suggest he can hit the ball very far, but Mendis lofts the ball perfectly. On the up. Over the ropes. His pull shots are so swift yet so busy, you might see a few different little movements in one split second. He is a pocket rocket.
Read: The greatest innings of all time?
But four years after his debut, has he done what is expected of him? Has he justified his inclusion in the field? If you take a look at Sri Lanka’s social media platforms, you are sure to find the public opinion on this matter. ‘Mendis memes’ are plentiful on Facebook and Twitter as the whole nation takes a moment to forget their problems through Mendis’ patchy form.
Obviously Mendis hasn’t lived up to his potential and his average confirms that. 27.77 runs per innings in 65 ODIs and 36.65 in 38 Tests are not the numbers you seek from your number 3 or 4 and the current plight which Sri Lanka find themselves in, hasn’t helped Mendis’ case.
When 26-year-old Mahela Jayewardene lived out his nightmares between the 22 yards at the 2003 Cricket World Cup (21 runs in 7 innings), Sanath Jayasuriya, Marvan Atapattu, Hashan Thilakeratne and Aravinda De Silva were all on hand to guide Sri Lanka through to the semifinals. Fail in wins, you might get away. Fail in defeats in the digital age, you will not.
But has the bashing gone too far? Mendis failed in the first two games of this World Cup, but his 6 ODI innings before that, includes 3 half centuries. 2 of them versus South Africa in South Africa.
Read: The Cardiff melodrama – Sri Lanka Bowling > Sri Lanka Batting
The problem is, you never know what you get with Mendis. He is like an individual “Pakistan”. One day he might put on an absolute shocker of a performance and on the next day he’ll boss the opposition. Inconsistency in performances has dimmed this star’s shine.
Even when you consider the contemporary players who belong to Mendis’ generation, he is falling well behind.
| Player | Age | Bat. Average (ODI) |
| Imam Ul Haq | 23 | 57.15 |
| Babar Azam | 24 | 50.96 |
| Shai Hope | 25 | 50.56 |
| Shimron Hetmyer | 22 | 40.30 |
| Mosaddek Hossain | 23 | 31.33 |
| Andile Phehlukwayo | 23 | 30.12 |
| Aiden Markram | 24 | 28.20 |
| Kusal Mendis | 24 | 27.77 |
At the moment, Sri Lanka can’t afford anymore hiccups from their recognized players. Sri Lanka has invested so much in Mendis, they don’t have any replacement for him either. It will truly be a disaster if Mendis doesn’t ‘come of age’, and soon!
If all goes well, Mendis can become the best player to emerge from Moratuwa where players such as Romesh Kaluwitharana, Prasanna Jayewardene and Lahiru Thirimanne first stepped into cricket. But Sri Lanka would hope that he is destined for more than that!
