Balapuwaduge Manukulasuriya Amith Jeevan Mendis ( si, ජීවන් මෙන්ඩිස්; born 15 January 1983) is a former Sri Lankan professional
cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by str ...
er, who played limited over internationals. An
all-rounder
An all-rounder is a cricketer who regularly performs well at both batting and bowling. Although all bowlers must bat and quite a handful of batsmen do bowl occasionally, most players are skilled in only one of the two disciplines and are consi ...
who bowls
leg spin
Leg spin is a type of spin bowling in cricket. A leg spinner bowls right-arm with a wrist spin action. The leg spinner's normal delivery causes the ball to spin from right to left (from the bowler's perspective) when the ball bounces on the ...
, Mendis has represented
Sri Lanka in the
2012 World Twenty20 and
2015 World Cup. Domestically, he plays for
Tamil Union in Sri Lanka, and he has also played for
Derbyshire
Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southern end of the Pennine range of hills and part of the National Forest. It borders Greater Manchester to the nor ...
in England during 2017. Mendis announced his retirement from international cricket on 28 December 2021.
Youth career
Mendis was born in
Colombo
Colombo ( ; si, කොළඹ, translit=Koḷam̆ba, ; ta, கொழும்பு, translit=Koḻumpu, ) is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. According to the Brookings Institution, Colombo m ...
and went to
S. Thomas' College, Mount Lavinia
, motto_translation = Be Thou Forever
, song = Thomian Song
, athletics = Yes
, sports = Yes
, nickname = Thora
, denomination = Anglican
, patron ...
. A left-handed batsman, he debuted in 2000/01 and the following season captained the Under-19 team to victory in a one-day game. He represented the Sri Lankan A side in
2005. He held the best bowling figures in
U19 Cricket World Cup history where he recorded 7/20 v
Zimbabwe U19's until his record was surpassed by Australia's Jason Ralston (7/19) at the
2018 Under-19 Cricket World Cup, which was then surpassed in the same tournament by Ralston's compatriot
Lloyd Pope (who took 8/35). He is the only Sri Lankan to pick up a 7 wicket haul in an U19 match.
Domestic career
Mendis made his
Twenty20
Twenty20 (T20) is a shortened game format of cricket. At the professional level, it was introduced by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) in 2003 for the inter-county competition. In a Twenty20 game, the two teams have a single inn ...
debut on 17 August 2004, for
Sinhalese Sports Club in the
2004 SLC Twenty20 Tournament
The 2004 SLC Twenty20 Tournament is the 1st season of the official Twenty20 domestic cricket competition in Sri Lanka. 15 teams in total, five representing four provinces of Sri Lanka and a Sri Lanka Schools XI team participating in the compet ...
. In Sri Lankan domestic cricket, Mendis has played for
Tamil Union since the 2008–09 season. During the first half of the
2017 season, he played for
Derbyshire
Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southern end of the Pennine range of hills and part of the National Forest. It borders Greater Manchester to the nor ...
in England as an overseas player.
In March 2018, he was named in Kandy's squad for the
2017–18 Super Four Provincial Tournament.
The following month, he was also named in Kandy's squad for the
2018 Super Provincial One Day Tournament.
In August 2018, he was named in Colombo's squad the
2018 SLC T20 League.
In December 2018, in the
2018–19 Premier League Tournament
The 2018–19 Premier League Tournament was the 31st season of first-class cricket in Sri Lanka's Premier Trophy. The tournament started on 30 November 2018 and concluded on 10 February 2019. Fourteen teams took part in Tier A of the competiti ...
, he took the best bowling figures in 2018 in a first-class cricket match, with 9 for 53 from 29 overs. He was the leading wicket-taker for Tamil Union Cricket and Athletic Club in the tournament, with 30 dismissals in five matches.
In March 2019, he was named in Dambulla's squad for the
2019 Super Provincial One Day Tournament.
International career
Mendis made his international debut in the
2010 Zimbabwe Tri-Nation Series in the 3rd Match on 1 June 2010 against Zimbabwe. He did not get any opportunity to bat as his number didn't come up, but he bowled 4 overs, giving 12 runs, and took two wickets. In his second ODI of the series against India, he scored an unbeaten 35 off 35 balls where Sri Lanka won the match by 6 wickets. In the final of the series, he took two wickets against Zimbabwe, and Sri Lanka won the championship comprehensively.
In the opening match of
2012 ICC World Twenty20 against
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and ...
at
Hambantota
Hambantota ( si, හම්බන්තොට, ta, அம்பாந்தோட்டை) is the main town in Hambantota District, Southern Province, Sri LankaThe prominent Malays (මැලේ) most part of the population is to be partly de ...
, he came to the crease at 82/3 after 11.3 overs and scored a 43* from 30 balls, hitting 4 fours and a six and scripted a game-changing 49 ball 94 runs partnership with
Kumar Sangakkara
Kumara Chokshananda Sangakkara ( si, කුමාර් චොක්ශනාද සංගක්කාර; born 27 October 1977) is a Sri Lankan cricket commentator, former professional cricketer, businessman, ICC Hall of Fame inductee and the ...
(44 off 26 balls) to help his side reach 182/4. With the ball, he took 3/24 from his 4 overs and ably assisted spin partner
Ajantha Mendis
Balapuwaduge Ajantha Winslow Mendis ( si, අජන්ත මෙන්ඩිස්; born 11 March 1985) better known as Ajantha Mendis is a former Sri Lankan cricketer who played for Sri Lankan national cricket team in all three formats, who i ...
, who took a record 6/8 from his 4 overs. In the same year, he made his highest ODI score of 72
against India on 4 August 2012. However, Sri Lanka lost the match by 20 runs. On 10 November 2012, he achieved his best ODI bowling figures, where he took 3 for 15
against New Zealand in a rain-affected match in Hambantota. Sri Lanka finally won the match by 7 wickets and Mendis won the man of the match award.
After three years of break in international arena, Mendis was surprisingly picked up for the Twenty20 International series
against Bangladesh in February 2018. He played his comeback match on 15 February 2018 and took two wickets for just 21 runs. Sri Lanka won the match by 6 wickets.
In April 2019, he was named in
Sri Lanka's squad for the
2019 Cricket World Cup
The 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup was the 12th Cricket World Cup, a quadrennial One Day International (ODI) cricket tournament contested by men's national teams and organised by the International Cricket Council (ICC). It was hosted between 30 May ...
. After lean streak by both bat and ball, he was dropped from the limited over squad following the exit from World Cup.
T20 franchise cricket
In October 2018, he was named in
Tshwane Spartans' squad for the
first edition of the
Mzansi Super League T20 tournament. He was the joint-leading wicket-taker for the team in the tournament, with sixteen dismissals in nine matches. In November 2019, he was selected to play for the
Sylhet Thunder in the
2019–20 Bangladesh Premier League.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mendis, Jeevan
1983 births
Living people
Sri Lankan cricketers
Sri Lanka One Day International cricketers
Sri Lanka Twenty20 International cricketers
Sinhalese Sports Club cricketers
Bloomfield Cricket and Athletic Club cricketers
Dhaka Division cricketers
Tamil Union Cricket and Athletic Club cricketers
Ruhuna cricketers
Kandurata cricketers
Sri Lanka Schools XI cricketers
Sydney Sixers cricketers
Delhi Capitals cricketers
Cricketers at the 2015 Cricket World Cup
Cricketers at the 2019 Cricket World Cup
Asian Games medalists in cricket
Cricketers at the 2014 Asian Games
Kandy Crusaders cricketers
Jaffna District cricketers
Barbados Royals cricketers
Asian Games gold medalists for Sri Lanka
Chittagong Vikings cricketers
Medalists at the 2014 Asian Games
Derbyshire cricketers
Tshwane Spartans cricketers