Sri Lanka includes ambidextrous bowler in T20 squad
Kamindu Mendis was included in Sri Lanka�s 15-member squad for one-off T20 match against England.
COLOMBO (AFP) - Sri Lanka on Monday included a 20-year-old ambidextrous bowler in its 15-member squad for the one-off Twenty20 match against England.
Kamindu Mendis, who has played under-19 matches, was brought into the squad led by Thisara Perera for Saturday s match at Premadasa International Stadium in Colombo under lights.
Bowling with right and left arm is not something any bowler has done in a full international before according to the game’s governing body, so we might see cricketing history being created soon.
Though Kamindu Mendis has gained popularity in cricketing circles for his ambidexterity, he is predominantly a batsman who can bowl. He has played junior cricket as a No 3 batsman predominantly. He was a half-centurion for Sri Lanka’s Board XI, making 61 off 72 balls, in a warm-up match against England recently, an occasion where his ambidextrous finger-spin also caught the eye once again. He bowled off-breaks to the left-handed Eoin Morgan, and left-arm orthodox to the right-handed Joe Root, as he usually prefers to.
Mendis was 13 when his coach reportedly suggested that he bowl right-arm spin alongside the left-arm spin that came naturally to him.
Apart from Mendis, India’s Akshay Karnewar and Pakistan’s Yasir Jan are the other ambidextrous bowlers in the men’s game. Among the women, Bangladesh’s Shaila Sharmin and Australia’s Barsby can bowl left- and right-arm.
Sri Lanka T20 squad: Thisara Perera (captain), Dinesh Chandimal, Niroshan Dickwella, Kusal Perera, Kusal Mendis, Dhananjaya de Silva, Dasun Shanaka, Kamindu Mendis, Isuru Udana, Lasith Malinga, Akila Dhananjaya, Dushmantha Chameera, Kasun Rajitha, Lakshan Sandakan and Nuwan Pradeep.
