Sri Lanka (commonwealth) _ In March 2024, Sri Lankan batsman Kamindu Mendis won the ICC Men’s Player of the Month award for his outstanding return during the team’s recent tour to Bangladesh.
Mendis, who gained notoriety for his outstanding Test comebacks, defeated Ireland’s Mark Adair and New Zealand’s Matt Henry to win the inaugural ICC Men’s Player of the Month title.
The 25-year-old batsman joined spinner Prabath Jayasuriya and standout all-rounder Wanindu Hasaranga as the only other Sri Lankan athletes to win the esteemed trophy. Mendis acknowledged his happiness upon receiving the honor and cited it as inspiration for his future work.
Mendis remarked, “I consider being named the ICC Men’s Player of the Month as an inspiration for my international career. I am incredibly happy.” “Acknowledgment like this inspires and drives us players to give our all for the team, the nation, and the supporters.
“I also extend my best wishes to Mark Adair and Matt Henry, two other players who were nominated with me and whom I believe to be excellent competitors and players.” After two years away from the national team, Mendis returned and amassed 68 runs in three Twenty20 Internationals against Bangladesh, including a 37 off 27 in the first match.
But in the next Test match against the home team, he showed his strength by amassing 367 runs over the course of two games. He and Dhananjaya de Silva, who became just the third duo from the same country to smash hundreds in both innings, saved the side from a 57-5 deficit during the opening Test match.
This achievement had previously been accomplished by Misbah-ul-Haq and Azhar Ali of Pakistan as well as the Chappell brothers, Greg and Ian, of Australia. In the second game, he carried on with his outstanding play, scoring an undefeated 92 in the opening over.
Asitha Fernando, the penultimate player, was run out for a duck, hence he just missed the achievement of scoring a third century in a row in the Test match. During the Test series, he also claimed three wickets, aiding Sri Lanka in their rout of Bangladesh.
With an incredible display of prowess in the game, batting prodigy Kamindu Mendis tied the record set by Pakistan’s former captain and famous batsman Javed Miandad for the most Test runs after four innings. In the first four innings of his Test career, the 25-year-old batsman has equaled Javed Miandad’s 1976 record with 419 runs.
In the second Test match of his career, Mendis thrashed Bangladesh in Sylhet, scoring 102 and 164. The 25-year-old batsman scored an undefeated 92, missing partners on the other end, almost missing his third straight hundred.
After four test innings, he lost the chance to equal Mohammad Azharuddin for the most centuries as in the fourth innings he ran out of partners. With scores of 61, 102, 164, and 92 not out, Kamindu Mendis has collected an astounding 419 runs, equal the record held by Javed Miandad.
His lone mishap in the series against Bangladesh occurred in the second Test inning when he could only muster nine runs. In his first four Test innings, Javed Miandad, the renowned batsman and former captain of Pakistan, had also amassed 419 runs. During the Test match, Miandad amassed 163, 25 not out, 25, and 206 in his first four innings.
The list of finalists for the ICC Men’s and Women’s Player of the Month awards for performances was just released by the International Cricket Council (ICC) in March. The names shortlisted for March’s ICC Player of the Month honors cover a variety of forms and honor exceptional individual achievements on the international cricket scene.
A pivotal figure in Ireland’s historic first-ever men’s Test triumph, a productive front-line bowler from New Zealand, and a record-breaking Sri Lankan Test run-scorer are all on the shortlist for the ICC Men’s Player of the Month award.
In addition to leading Ireland’s Test victory against Afghanistan, Mark Adair has been nominated for the first time for the ICC Men’s Player of the Month award. Matt Henry of New Zealand also had a great month at the wicket, picking up wickets on a regular basis in his team’s World Test Championship series against Australia. Batsman Kamindu Mendis of Sri Lanka completes the team. He was nominated for his remarkable batting performances during Sri Lanka’s longest-lasting victory over Bangladesh.
