Kusal Mendis: Sri Lanka's Attacking ODI Opener and Wicketkeeper-Batter — Asia Cup 2022 and ODI Consistency
Kusal Mendis' transformation from a T20 middle-order finisher into Sri Lanka's first-choice ODI wicketkeeper and opening batter, his role in the 2022 Asia Cup title win, and his attacking approach to white-ball cricket.
Bhanuka Rajapaksa Kusal Mendis was born on 2 February 1995 in Moratuwa, Sri Lanka. A right-handed wicketkeeper-batsman, he emerged as a T20 specialist but developed into Sri Lanka's first-choice ODI opener and wicketkeeper across the 2022–2024 period. His attacking batting style — characterised by hard hitting in the powerplay and early acceleration — gave Sri Lanka a different dimension at the top of the ODI order compared to the more cautious platform-building approach of Dimuth Karunaratne. He played a significant role in Sri Lanka's 2022 Asia Cup T20 title win and was a consistent contributor in the 2023 ODI World Cup in India.
Asia Cup 2022: Title Win and Impact
Sri Lanka won the 2022 Asia Cup T20 tournament held in the UAE, defeating Pakistan in the final in an extraordinary match. Kusal Mendis was one of Sri Lanka's principal batting contributors across the tournament, providing aggressive top-order runs that set up competitive totals or enabled successful chases. His ability to score quickly in T20 powerplay overs — targeting pace in the opening 6 overs with pulls and drives — was central to Sri Lanka's batting strategy. The Asia Cup win was Sri Lanka's first major multi-nation tournament title since the 2014 World T20, confirming their emergence from the transitional post-Sangakkara era.
Transition to ODI Opener and Wicketkeeper
Mendis's evolution from T20 middle-order player to ODI opener and wicketkeeper reflected Sri Lanka's need for an attacking presence at the top of the batting order in the 50-over format. Taking on the wicketkeeping role full-time in ODIs in addition to batting at the top of the order placed significant physical demands on him, but it allowed Sri Lanka to free up a place for an additional specialist batter in the middle order. His ODI keeping — proficient behind the pace and capable against spin — developed alongside his batting, making him a more complete contributor to the team across 50 overs. His ODI average developed progressively as he found his optimal role at number 1 or 2 in the batting order.
Batting Style and White-Ball Approach
Mendis's batting is built around aggression from the first ball — he is not a conservative starter who watches early deliveries before expanding his range. His scoring areas include the pull shot off short-pitched deliveries from pace bowlers in the powerplay, the straight drive through the on side against fuller deliveries, and the sweep against spin. This approach generates high strike rates but also means he is dismissed relatively early when the aggressive plan doesn't connect — his dismissal profile shows a significant percentage of top-edge pulls caught by the fielder at short fine leg, a characteristic risk of his front-foot attacking style against pace. Nonetheless, his value to Sri Lanka in the powerplay — getting 30–50 at strike rates above 120 — has been critical to their white-ball scoring structure.
Frequently asked questions
How does wicketkeeper-batting at the top of the order change a team's dynamics compared to having a specialist opener, and is Sri Lanka's model of Kusal Mendis as opener-keeper sustainable?
Using a wicketkeeper as an opening batter in ODI cricket is a relatively unusual tactical choice that has both structural advantages and limitations, and Kusal Mendis's case is interesting because it was driven by necessity as much as strategy. The standard model: most international ODI teams use a specialist wicketkeeper at number 6 or 7, with the keeper's batting being an asset but not a primary component of the top-order plan. The logic: keeping wicket in an entire 50-over innings is physically demanding, particularly in hot conditions, and asking the keeper to also absorb the physical and mental demands of an opening innings (facing the new ball, setting the tone, potentially batting 40+ overs) compounds that workload. The keeper-opener upside: when it works, a keeper-opener allows the team to fit an additional specialist batter into the middle order, improving batting depth. Sri Lanka's alternative — selecting a specialist opener and a separate keeper — uses two spots on players who have one function each; Mendis uses one spot to fulfil both functions, freeing the number 6-7 spot for a specialist all-rounder or batter. This improves depth, particularly useful when top-order collapses require someone to rebuild from lower down. Physical sustainability: the workload is demanding but manageable across a 50-over match. The real sustainability question is across a tournament — a 10-match World Cup where Mendis keeps for every match and opens in every match will generate cumulative fatigue that a specialist keeper (who doesn't open) or a specialist opener (who doesn't keep) avoids. Sri Lanka's management of Mendis's schedule in non-tournament cricket, giving him rest to preserve his effectiveness in the high-stakes matches, is critical to making the model sustainable. Is it the right model for Sri Lanka? Given their specific squad composition and batting depth challenges — they do not currently have two world-class opening batters and a world-class wicketkeeper who could all be selected simultaneously — using Mendis as the opener-keeper is probably the optimal allocation of a multi-skilled player. It is not a model that would make sense for India (which has Pant, Rohit, Shubman Gill as separate specialists) but is sensible for Sri Lanka's current depth profile.