Ajantha Mendis is a Sri Lankan former professional cricketer who played for all three formats of international cricket. He also serves as a Lieutenant in the Sri Lankan Army.
Player Profile
Balapuwaduge Ajantha Winslow Mendis was born on March 11, 1985 in Moratuwa, Sri Lanka. He stands 180 cm tall and bats right-handed and he bowls with a right-arm off spin pace. He plays the position of bowler.
Mendis is a spinner who bowls legbreaks, flippers, top-spinners, offbreaks and googlies. As he can bowl such a variety of deliveries the batsmen are confused regarding what his next delivery might be.
| Role | Bowler |
| Height / weight | 1.8 m / |
| Born | 11 Mar 1985 |
| Nationality |
Sri Lanka
|
| Playing Style | Right Handed |
| Team History | |
Wayamba
|
2007 - 2019 |
| Sri Lanka Army Sports Club (cricket) | 2006 - 2019 |
Sri Lanka
|
2008 - 2015 |
| Sylhet Super Stars | 2015 |
| Lahore Qalandars | 2014 |
Sydney Thunder
|
2014 |
Pune Warriors
|
2013 |
| Nagenahira Nagas | 2012 |
|
Somerset County
|
2011 |
Knight Riders
|
2008 - 2009 |
He grew up catholic and he attended St. Anthony’s College.
Career
In 2000 he entered Moratuwa Maha Vidyalaya where he represented the under-15 team and was chosen to the first eleven team. He was selected as the Best Bowler at the big matches in 2001 as well as 2002.
During the 2003-04 tournaments when he played a match against the Army under 23 Division 11, his talents were spotted by the Sri Lanka Army Cricket Committee. He was later requested to join the Regular Force of the Sri Lanka Army.
Mendis played for the Army in 59 two or three-day matches and 23 limited-over matches where he took 244 and 38 wickets respectively.
Further, he was chosen to the pool of Academy Squad which was organized by Sri Lanka Cricket. He was selected for an eight-day tour of India in June 2007 where he played two two-day matches. His performance in the Premier Limited over tournament 2007-08 was impressive and the Sri Lanka Cricket selectors chose him to play in the Provincial Tournament 2008.
Here also he performed excellently and hence was nicknamed as ‘Mysterious bowler’.
In the domestic season of the Premier League Tournament, he took 68 wickets in 9 matches. He was later selected to the National One Day Squad that toured West Indies in 2008.
The debut was good for him and later on, he was selected for the Asia Cup against India where he ran through the Indian Batting line up with 6 wickets for just 13 runs. The ‘carrom ball’ that he has developed has proved dangerous for many batsmen as they have fallen prey to it.
He retired from professional cricket in 2015. By that time, he had already spent time playing for Somerset, Sydney Thunder, Lahore Qalanders, Pune Warriors, and more.
Career Highlights
- 2008 - ICC Emerging Player of theYear
Career Statistics
- Matches - 19 (Test), 87 (ODI), 39(T20I)
- Runs Scored - 213 (Test), 188 (ODI),8 (T20I)
- Batting Average - 16.38 (Test), 8.17(ODI), 2.66 (T20I)
