Daniel Alexander
– Scored 1023 Test runs in 2018, 2nd highest in world and most by a Sri Lankan
– 5th youngest batsman to score 1000+ Test runs in a year in Test history
– Scored 1512 International runs in 2018, most by a Sri Lankan
– 3 Test centuries in 2018, most by a Sri Lankan batsman
– His 196 was the 3rd highest Test score in 2018, highest for a Sri Lankan
– His Test partnerships (308 with DDS) and (274* with Angelo) top two highest in world cricket in 2018
– His 274* with Angelo partnership is SL’s 2nd highest 4th wicket partnership
– Batted an entire day in New Zealand Test with Angelo, only 4th SL pair, 1st pair in world cricket over 10 years (since 29 Feb 2008)
– Scored 4301 International runs in 110 matches before the age of 24, only Mahela (5918 runs in 141 matches) scored more for SL
– Scored 2527 Test runs in 36 Tests before the age of 24, only Mahela (3076 in 42 Tests) scored more for SL
– Scored 6 Test centuries before the age of 24, only Mahela (9) scored more for SL
– 34 International catches in 2018, most by a non keeper in world
– 21 Test catches in 2018, most by a non keeper in world
– 91 International catches since 01st January 2016, most by a non keeper in world
For people who like to go with stats, take these…
Aravinda De Silva in his first 5 years in ODI cricket – Avg= 27
Sanath Jayasuriya in his first 5 years in ODI- Avg=20.18
Marvan Atapattu in his first 5 years in ODI- Avg=10
Mahela Jayawardene in his first 5 years in ODI- Avg= 32 (Even after that 5 years he only got 21 runs in 9 innings in 2003 WC
Every SL batsman had gone an inconsistent period of 4-5 years in international cricket and people who survived this period have gone for the glory… It is due to the poor infrastructure of our cricket and giving them a 5 year is fair compensation. Even the present hero Kusal Perera had to go through a similar 5 years before he established in the side. If someone says Kusal Mendis is built only for test cricket, it is a joke. He is a naturally aggressive player. Anyone can see it when he plays. During the last 4 years, SL has invested heavily on Kusal Mendis in ODI cricket and so we have to let him play for the WC. If he finds his rhythm, he is the biggest match winner we have in upcoming WC. If he would not, keep him on the bench, and by WC 2023, he will be a mature cricketer with experiences with games biggest event. There is always a risk. Giving that the potential posses to Kusal Mendis, it is worthwhile to take this risk.
@Andrew Silva why do you keep making all these threads and disabling the comments section? But then jump on other threads writing essays goading people for a response?
Shows weakness. Man up.
@mega turbo – FYI, repeated posts & comments off beyond my control…. probably due to technical issue. What’s the point comparing the CAREER STATS in an entirely different era over 3 decades distant past ?
Here is the real comparison of some ordinary batters who made their debut in this decade & at 5yrs or less of their ODI careers (leaving the exceptional batters like Kohli -50+ Av, Jo Root -50+ etc) .
So where is this so called “prodigy” Kusal Mendis (55 odis @ 26 Av) stands in relative terms in this highly competitive & high-performance-productivity demanding fast-paced era seen in this decade?
SL simply cannot afford to waste more ODI matches on him expecting miracles, when clearly there are potentially better youngsters (ie: Avishka Fernando, Kamindu Mendis etc) knocking at the door:
Niroshan Dickwella – 35 Av (25 yrs)
Travis Head – 34 Av (25 yrs)
Soumya Sarkar- 34 Av (25 yrs)
Henry Nicholls – 36 Av (27 yrs)
Jonny Bairstow – 48 Av (29 yrs)
Jos Buttler – 38 Av (28 yrs)
Rohit Sharma – 33 Av
Shikhar Dhawan – 43 Av
Ambati Rayudu – 50 Av
The major problem with some mono-focal SL fans & the responsible think-tanks is… they all deeply lacking the overall analytical view to judge reality.
Someone here even pointing out KJP’s failure in limited over cricket in initial 3+ yrs to justify Mendis saga. KJP’s ODI saga slotting him to Open extended over 3 yrs is typical example for the above mentioned horrible weakness in decision makers (virtually halting just then 5k+ runs topped 2nd quickest SL player UT’s prime career @ 28 yrs & if those 3 yrs were not scrapped off from his career- today he would have topped 10,000 odi runs with 20+ Hundreds today… considering the amount of matches he missed, come close to 1/3 of his career innings at that point).
Since mid 2014, it took almost 3 yrs and 50+ odis & many lost series including 2015WC hopes, for those at top to realize the futility of having KJP as Opener.
Ultimately KJP ended up totally dooming 50% of his (50+) innings as ODI Opener in single-digit scores mostly lasted under 10 balls – wasting 27 innings – to collect astonishingly low 105 runs @ 3.88 Av – 51 SR , while Upul was dumped in the bin virtually without giving any decent international opportunity over 3 yrs, other than a very few solitary matches randomized over 3 yrs until 2017 regular spot, where he topped 1k runs within the year, only behind Kohli & Sharma.
I have pointed this absurdity in Cricinfo during late 2014, but it took 3 yrs for those top-nuts to realize that in the hardest way possible :))) Today KJP is doing well in the middle order, not as Opener in any format.!