Sri Lanka lost the first test against England at Manchester, Sri Lanka didn’t play up to the mark so they lost the match. They need to plan some new strategies ahead of the Lords test. Sri Lanka would be eyeing to square the Test Series as England are already missing the services of Ben Stokes & Mark Wood as England’s team looks a bit fragile.
Kamindu Mendis secured his place in the team after 2 years, he debuted for Sri Lanka in 2022 against Australia. He had replaced Dhananjay De Silva but later Dhananjay came to the side and Kamindu Mendis has been sidelined since then. This Test Series is also important for interim head coach Sanath Jayasuriya as a win in the next 2 Test matches will bolster his chances of becoming a head coach for a tenure of minimum 2 years ahead.
Kamindu Mendis speaks about his test career
Kamindu Mendis played his last test in 2022 and that was his last test and he scored a half-century on debut, then he wasn’t included in the team as Dhananjay De Silva returned after Covid, but Kamindu Mendis was not disappointed after being sacked for 2 years if he had played after that too and if his form declined then he could have lost his place but he feels no regrets about this. Kamindu Mendis said:
“I knew that the batting was packed, but what I tried to do was to do as best as I could in the chance that I had. I had to exit the team after that, but I don’t see that as a mistake.
“You have to make various decisions to balance a team, and I came into that side only because Dhananjaya had COVID. When he returned, I had to make way. That’s fair.”