Kusal Mendis Height, Age, Wife, Family, Biography & More

Bio/Wiki
Full name	Balapuwaduge Kusal Gimhan Mendis
Nickname(s)	• Menda • King Menda
Profession	Cricketer (Batsman & Wicket-keeper)
Physical Stats & More
Height (approx.)	in centimeters- 168 cm in meters- 1.68 m in feet & inches- 5’ 6”
Weight (approx.)	in kilograms- 65 kg in pounds- 143 lbs
Body Measurements (approx.)	- Chest: 42 Inches - Waist: 32 Inches - Biceps: 14 Inches
Eye Colour	Black
Hair Colour	Black
Cricket
International Debut	ODI- On 16 June 2016 against Ireland at The Village, Dublin Test- On 22 October 2015 against West Indies at P Sara Oval, Colombo T20- On 5 July 2016 against England at The Rose Bowl, Southampton
Jersey Number	#13 (Sri Lanka)
Domestic/State Team	School Cricket • Prince of Wales College, Moratuwa (2010-12) • Sri Lanka Cricket Development Under-16s (2011-12) First Class/List A/T20 • The Rest (2013-14) • Moors Sports Club (2013-14) • Moors Sports Club Under-23 (2013-14) • Sri Lanka Emerging Players (2015-16) • Sri Lanka Cricket Development XI (2015-16) • Kurunegala Warriors (2015-16) • Commercial Credit (2015-16) • Sri Lanka Board President's XI (2015-16) • Dambulla District (2017-18) • Galle District (2018-19) • Colombo District (2021-22) • Sri Lanka Reds (2022) Club Cricket • Bloomfield Cricket and Athletic Club (2014-15) • Colombo Cricket Club (2015-21) • Mohammedan Sporting Club (2020-21) • Sinhalese Sports Club (2022) Middlesex Premier League • Southgate (2014-15) Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) • Chattogram Challengers (2024) South African T20 (SA20) League • Pretoria Capitals (2023) Lanka Premier League (LPL) • Kandy Tuskers (2020) • Galle Gladiators (2021, 2022) • Dambulla Aura (2023) Other Teams • Sri Lanka Under-19 (2013-15) • Sri Lanka Under-23 (2013-15) • Sri Lanka (2015-present)
Coach/Mentor	Jayalath Apoonsu (Died in November 2020)
Batting Style	Right-handed
Bowling Style	Right-arm leg spin
Awards	• Schoolboy Cricketer of the Year Award in 2013 • ODI Batsman of the Year Award at Dialog Cricket Awards in 2017
Personal Life
Date of Birth	2 February 1995 (Thursday)
Age (as of 2024)	29 Years
Birthplace	Moratuwa, Sri Lanka
Zodiac sign	Aquarius
Autograph
Nationality	Sri Lankan
Hometown	Moratuwa
School	Prince of Wales College, Moratuwa, Colombo
College/University	Did not attend
Educational Qualifications	High School
Religion	Christianity
Hobbies	Gymming
Tattoo(s)	On both hands
Controversies	Road Accident [1]The Morning Around 5 am on the morning of 5 July 2020, Kusal was involved in an accident near the 13th Mile post in Horethuduwa, Panadura which resulted in death of a 74-year-old resident of Gorakapola and worked as a bus conductor; the victim was riding a bicycle at the time of accident. Allegedly, at the time of the accident, Avishka Fernando was sitting in the Range Rover SUV, and after hitting him, they fled the spot and left the person for around 40 minutes before an ambulance came and took the victim to the hospital. After surrendering at the Panadura North Police Station later, Mendis was arrested. On 6 July 2020, he was released on bail on the surety amount of LKR 1 million by the local court. One Year Ban Sri Lankan trio Kusal Mendis, Danushka Gunathilaka, and Niroshan Dickwella, were filmed on the streets of Durham after breaching the bio-secure bubble during the England tour following which they were banned for one year from international cricket and for six months from the domestic cricket and also imposed a fine of 10 million Sri Lankan rupees on them. [2]Hindustan Times The ban was lifted on 7 January 2022 and were allowed to play international cricket. [3]ICC
Relationships & More
Marital Status	Married
Affairs/Girlfriends	Nishelle Fernandz
Marriage Date	12 February 2021
Family
Wife/Spouse	Nishelle Fernandz (Born on 18 May 1997) Note: They have an age gap of 2 years.
Children	Daughter- Heyli/Hailey (Born on 20 June 2022 at the Ninewells Hospital (Pvt) Ltd., Colombo)
Parents	Father- Dinesh Mendis (An autorickshaw driver) Mother- Maheshika Shivanthi
Siblings	Brother- Omesh Mendis (Younger, Domestic cricketer) Sister- Dilki Mendis (Married to Nipun Oshada De Silva)
Favourites
Cricketer	Sachin Tendulkar

Some Lesser Known Facts About Kusal Mendis

• Kusal Mendis is a Sri Lankan cricketer who is recognised as one of the best batsmen in Sri Lanka in the early 2020s. He captained them in several matches of the 2023 ODI World Cup.

• He started playing cricket while studying in school and later represented many teams in the domestic cricket. He captained the Sri Lanka Under-19 team in the 2006 Under-19 World Cup.
  

  A childhood picture of Kusal Mendis (in red)

  

  Kusal Mendis during his early teenage years

  

  Kusal Mendis during the 2006 Under-19 World Cup

• Kusal Mendis scored 13 runs in the first innings and 39 runs in the second innings of his debut test match. He made his maiden test fifty with 53 runs during the second innings during the test against England in May 2016. He made his first test century with 176 runs in the second innings against Australia in July 2016.
  

  Kusal Mendis in Sri Lankan test jersey

• In the 2018 calendar year, he took the most catches (21) in the test matches and made 1023 runs at an average of 46.50 with 3 hundreds and 4 fifties. He made his first test double hundred with 245 runs against Ireland in April 2023.
  

  Kusal Mendis celebrating a test century

• He made his first ODI fifty with 51 runs in his debut ODI match. He scored his first ODI century with 102 runs against Bangladesh on 28 March 2017.
  

  Kusal Mendis receiving a Man of the Match award

• In the 2019 ODI World Cup held in England, he scored 143 runs in 7 matches at an average of 20.43 and a strike rate of 67.14 with the highest score of 46 runs against England. He played 9 matches in the 2023 ODI World Cup held in India and made 294 runs at an average of 32.67 and a strike rate of 113.95 with the highest score of 122 runs against Pakistan.
  

  Kusal Mendis playing during the 2023 ODI World Cup

• He scored 21 runs in his debut T20I match. On 15 February 2018, he scored his first T20I half-century with 53 runs against Bangladesh. He helped the Sri Lankan team win the 2022 Asia Cup.
  

  Kusal Mendis playing in a T20I match

• Kusal Mendis was the highest runscorer for Sri Lanka in the 2022 T20 World Cup held in Australia and made 223 runs in 8 matches at an average of 31.86 and a strike rate of 142.95 with the highest score of 79 runs against the Netherlands.
  

  Kusal Mendis with a Man of the Match award during the 2022 T20 World Cup

• He became the captain of Sri Lanka during the 2023 ODI World Cup after Dasun Shanaka was ruled out of the squad due to an injury; he won 2 and lost 5 matches out of 7 matches of the World Cup.
  

  Kusal Mendis during the 2023 ODI World Cup

• He was acquired by Galle Gladiators for Diamond A ($ 40,000; approx LKR 14 million) price category for the 2022 Lanka Premier League (LPL) season. Pretoria Capitals acquired him for R425,000 (approx. 8.925 million Sri Lankan rupees) for the 2022-23 SA20 season.
  

  Kusal Mendis playing for Galle Gladiators in the Lanka Premier League

• His base price was Rs 50 lakh during the 2023 auction of the Indian Premier League (IPL), but he went unsold. ^[4]Hindustan Times

• After the match against India in the 2023 ODI World Cup, Mendis was asked if he would congratulate Virat Kohli on his record-equalling 49th ODI century, he asked why would he do that, following which many fans criticised him. Mendis later clarified that he did not understand the question and praised Virat Kohli by calling him a great batsman. ^[5]The Economic Times
  

  Kusal Mendis during the press conference