Father: Madagamagamage Shanaka, Mother: Kumari Shanaka, Wife: Nishell
Kusal Mendis is a stylish right-handed wicketkeeper-batter from Sri Lanka who burst onto the international scene as a teenager and quickly established himself as one of the country’s most exciting batting talents. The 31-year-old from Moratuwa, educated at Prince of Wales College where he won the Schoolboy Cricketer of the Year award in 2013, made his Test debut at just 20 and announced himself with a match-defining 176 against Australia at Pallekele—an innings widely regarded as one of Sri Lanka’s greatest ever. Since then, Mendis has become a mainstay across formats, embedding himself in the Test top order while also delivering impressive performances in ODIs. A compact technician with an aggressive impulse and iron resolve, he has also captained Sri Lanka’s Under-19s and represented numerous franchise teams globally, including the Gujarat Titans in the IPL. With his brother also having played cricket, the Mendis name continues to be synonymous with Sri Lankan batting excellence.
| Batting & Fielding | ||||||||||||||
| Format | Mat | Inns | NO | Runs | HS | Ave | BF | SR | 100s | 50s | 4s | 6s | Ct | St |
| Tests | 73 | 135 | 6 | 4757 | 245 | 36.87 | 8116 | 58.61 | 10 | 22 | 572 | 52 | 114 | 4 |
| ODIs | 154 | 151 | 13 | 4890 | 143 | 35.43 | 5591 | 87.46 | 6 | 35 | 503 | 77 | 100 | 16 |
| T20Is | 106 | 106 | 6 | 2622 | 86 | 26.22 | 2022 | 129.67 | 0 | 20 | 236 | 97 | 42 | 20 |
| FC | 111 | 197 | 11 | 7490 | 245 | 40.26 | 12179 | 61.49 | 19 | 31 | 878 | 87 | 158 | 13 |
| List A | 190 | 186 | 14 | 5754 | 143 | 33.45 | 6617 | 86.95 | 7 | 39 | 573 | 100 | 126 | 21 |
| T20s | 216 | 211 | 15 | 6098 | 109 | 31.11 | 4410 | 138.27 | 3 | 42 | 561 | 239 | 95 | 30 |
| Bowling | ||||||||||||||
| Format | Mat | Inns | Balls | Runs | Wkts | BBI | BBM | Ave | Econ | SR | 4w | 5w | 10w | |
| Tests | 73 | 9 | 132 | 118 | 1 | 1/10 | 1/18 | 118.00 | 5.36 | 132.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| ODIs | 154 | 2 | 20 | 28 | 0 | - | - | - | 8.40 | - | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| T20Is | 106 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| FC | 111 | 19 | 272 | 242 | 2 | 1/10 | 1/14 | 121.00 | 5.33 | 136.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| List A | 190 | 4 | 33 | 35 | 2 | 2/3 | 2/3 | 17.50 | 6.36 | 16.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| T20s | 216 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
He is a wicketkeeper-batter who bats right-handed and is known for his compact technique and aggressive strokeplay at the top of the order.
His match-defining 176 against Australia at Pallekele is considered one of Sri Lanka's greatest Test innings, as no other batsman in that game scored more than 55.
He has represented the Gujarat Titans in the Indian Premier League.
He made his Test debut for Sri Lanka against West Indies in October 2015 at the age of 20.
He won the Schoolboy Cricketer of the Year award in 2013 for his performances for Prince of Wales College in Moratuwa.
He has played for Bloomfield Cricket and Athletic Club, Colombo, and various LPL franchises including Jaffna Kings, Dambulla Aura, and Galle Gladiators.
He captained Sri Lanka's Under-19 team in the 2014 Youth World Cup and progressed through the age-group system rapidly.
He was born on February 2, 1995, in Moratuwa, making him 31 years old.
Yes, his brother, BOL Mendis, has also played cricket at competitive levels.
