Kusal Mendis

Blessed with a compact technique, an aggressive impulse, and an iron resolve, Mendis can drive fast bowlers on the up, attack spin with good footwork, and improvise audacious strokes in white-ball cricket. At his best, he makes difficult batting look effortless.

A celebrated product of Sri Lanka's school system, Mendis announced himself on the national level with a breathtaking second-innings 176 against Australia in Pallekele in 2016. He soon added scores of 194 and 196 (both against Bangladesh) to the list, and scored an unbeaten 84 to seal Sri Lanka's historic series win in South Africa in 2019. In that time he also became the country's youngest player to 1000 Test runs.

But periods of prolific run-scoring were interrupted by prolonged slumps, disciplinary setbacks, and intense public scrutiny. In 2021, Mendis, along with Niroshan Dickwella and Dasun Gunathilaka, was suspended for breaching biosecure protocols while on tour in England.

He bounced back to become one of the stars of Sri Lanka's memorable T20 Asia Cup win in 2022 at a time when the country was dealing with widespread shortages and anti-government protests. A year later, he did even better in the ODI Asia Cup, and took that form into the 50-over World Cup, where he made a sensational 76 off 42 balls against South Africa and then 122 off 77 against Pakistan. Mid-tournament he also took over the captaincy after injury ruled Dasun Shanaka out.

A month later, Mendis became Sri Lanka's full-time one-day captain, but though he remained in good touch with the bat and Sri Lanka won six of eight completed games under that period of his leadership, he was replaced in July 2024.

Mendis has played in T20 leagues around the world, including the IPL and SA20, and won multiple LPL titles with Jaffna Kings and the 2026 PSL with Peshawar Zalmi. He was second only to Babar Azam on the PSL run charts that season, scoring 550 runs, including a hundred, at a strike rate of 168.2 from 11 matches.

Polarising at home but indispensable to Sri Lanka, Mendis remains a player capable of producing innings that can alter the course of a match, and occasionally, an entire series.