NEWS
Follow UsIt has not been easy for Kamindu Mendis. The southpaw slammed a superb century in the first Test against England at Old Trafford, but his chances have been limited. He debuted against Australia in Galle in 2022 as a replacement for Dhananjaya de Silva, who was out due to Covid. He has to wait two more years to get another crack, and in his three Tests in 2024 so far, he has slammed three tons, including twin centuries, on his return against Bangladesh in Sylhet.
However, Mendis sees no concerns over missing out despite scoring a solid fifty on debut. "I knew that the batting was packed, but what I tried to do was to do as best as I could in the chance that I had," Kamindu said on August 27 (Tuesday), ahead of the second Test at Lord's.
"I had to exit the team after that, but I don't see that as a mistake. You have to take various decisions to balance a team, and I came into that side only because Dhananjaya had Covid. When he returned, I had to make way. That's fair."
After failing in the first innings in Manchester, Mendis put on 78 with Angelo Mathews and 117 with Dinesh Chandimal. Speaking of those stands, Mendis said, "In the first innings, I wasn't able to score runs. The conditions were challenging. It was colder than we expected. We did as well as we could as a team.
"I had a lot of support from the others when I went to bat, both Angie Aiya and Chandi Aiya. I have to mention Chandi Aiya in particular because him playing through that finger injury and putting up runs was vital for the team. He was a big support to me, too, to get to 100, and their experience really helped me. They shared what they knew with me in the middle."
Mendis's Test average of 92.16 is the second-best for anyone with at least 500 runs, but he does not read too much into that. He says all he thinks of is contributing to the team's cause in all departments.
"What I wanted was to do what I could on the day for the team. That's really my only goal: to give as much to my team as possible, whether on the batting front, bowling front, or via fielding."
Like many cricketers worldwide, Mendis' dream is also to play a Test at Lord's, something he will achieve when he takes the field on August 29 (Thursday).
"From when I was little, I had a dream to play a Test at Lord's," he said.
"It's not just my dream, I think every player has that target. I've been able to get there. If we can win this match, it'll be even more valuable to us."
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