Kusal Mendis (කුසල් මෙන්ඩිස්), is a right-handed wicket-keeper batsman and occasional right-arm leg-spin bowler. He has represented his national side Sri Lanka Cricket Team in all formats of International Cricket. Kusal Mendis has played his first-class cricket for Bloomfield Cricket and Athletic Club and Colombo Cricket Club (CCC) during 2015-17 and 2017-present. Kusal usually bats at number 3 for Sri Lanka in ODI and T20I.
Mendis captained Sri Lanka U-19 Cricket team during the 2014 ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup, hosted at UAE, won by South Africa against runner up Pakistan. During ICC Champions Trophy 2017, Kusal Mendis scored a match-winning knock with 89 runs and 159 runs partnership with Danushka Gunathilaka, helped Sri Lanka to chase their highest ever runs to chase in Champions Trophy against India on June 8, 2017.
Intl. Cricket Stats
Mendis scored his maiden ODI century against Bangladesh with 102 runs, at Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium on March 28, 2017, however, the match ended in a draw due to heavy rainfall. Mendis scored his maiden One Day International fifty against Ireland on June 16, 2016.
Kusal became the only second player after Virat Kohli to score 1000 runs in the calendar year 2018, and he finished the year with three centuries, four fifties, 1023 runs, and 46.50 averages. He joined the fastest to 1000 runs in ODI record with Upul Tharanga, which he recorded on June 30, 2017, against Zimbabwe.
K Mendis has recorded the successful highest ever chase by Sri Lanka team 193 runs against Bangladesh, he gave flying opening start to with 53 runs in just 4.5 overs along with Danushka Gunathilaka. Kusal Mendis is the youngest Sri Lankan to score Test century against Australia and also the youngest highest individual runs scorer on Australian soil.
Kusal Mendis has the highest Test score with 194 runs against Bangladesh, he just falls short 6 runs before his maiden double tons, caught by Tamim Iqbal. Mendis is the leading runs scorer during the 2018 SLC T20 League, Sri Lanka domestic T20 tournament with 182 runs in six matches while representing Galle’s squad in August 2018.
Kusal Mendis Career Stats
| Match Format | Test | ODI | T20 | First Class |
| Matches | 38 | 62 | 19 | 62 |
| Runs Scored | 2,639 | 1,626 | 354 | 4.036 |
| 100s/50s | 6/8 | 1/14 | 0/4 | 8/16 |
| Highest | 196 | 102 | 70 | 196 |
| 6s/4s | 24/330 | 25/171 | 16/30 | 46/494 |
| Batting Averages | 36.65 | 28.03 | 18.63 | 36.36 |
| Strike Rate | 57.22 | 84.82 | 141.03 | 59.81 |
| Balls Bowled | 78 | 20 | - | 182 |
| Wickets | 1 | - | - | 2 |
| Bowling Averages | 55.00 | – | – | 63.00 |
| 5-Wickets Haul | - | - | – | – |
| Best Bowling | 1/10 | – | – | 1/10 |
| Catches/Stumps | 61/0 | 30/- | 4/- | 91/8 |
| ICC Batting Rankings | 19 | 54 | 73 | - |
| ICC Bowling Rankings | - | - | - | - |
Kusal Mendis Profile
| Full Name | Balapuwaduge Kusal Gimhan Mendis |
| Date of Birth | 2 February 1995 Moratuwa, Sri Lanka |
| Current Age | 24 |
| Height | 5’7″ |
| Nickname | —— |
| T-Shirt No. | 2 |
| Playing Roll | Batsman, wicket-keeper |
| Batting Style | Right-handed |
| Bowling Style | Right-arm leg spin |
| Test Debut | 22 October 2015 v West Indies (cap 132) |
| ODI Debut | 16 June 2016 v Ireland (cap 170) |
| T20 Debut | 5 July 2016 v England (cap 66) |
| Last Test | 21 February 2019 v South Africa |
| Last ODI | 16 March 2019 v South Africa |
| Last T20 | 22 March 2019 v South Africa |
| @KusalMendis1 | |
| @kusalmendis_1 | |
| Major Teams | Sri Lanka, Bloomfield Cricket and Athletic Club, Sri Lanka A, Sri Lanka A Emerging Players, Sri Lanka Under-19s, Sri Lanka Under-23s |