http://www.senore.com/Cricket/BAW-Mendis-c1127 ready to return with full strength for World T20 – Cricket News Update
Recalled Sri Lankan leg-spinner Ajantha Mendis has insisted that he is prepared to come out in full force during the upcoming http://www.senore.com/Cricket/ICC-World-Cup-2011-c100625 World Twenty20, due to kick off in Sri Lanka during the second half of September.
“I'm ready to bowl all five deliveries,” said Mendis, referring to his full repertoire of spin deliveries. “The difficulty I had was that I wasn't able to bowl all five variations I used to deliver, with the injury. But after my recovery I can tell you that
I have come back to my old form.”
Mendis last played for the team in January this year, during an ODI against http://www.senore.com/Cricket/South-Africa-c757, after which he was struck by a recurring back injury which ruled him out of the remainder of the series. Since then he had slipped from the selectors’ radar.
However, following his recovery, and a stellar performance during the inaugural edition of the http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Sri-Lanka-c758 Premier League this year, during which he claimed 11 scalps from 7 matches for the Nagenahira Nagas franchise, brought him back into the limelight once
again, and he has been named in Sri Lanka’s 15-man squad for the upcoming World T20. The line-up features 4 specialist spinners in total – Mendis, left-armer http://www.senore.com/Cricket/HMRKB-Herath-c1559, leg-spinner Jeevan Mendis, and off-spinner Akila Dananjaya (an SLPL find) who is as
yet uncapped.
Mendis made a promising debut for the national side in April 2008, during an ODI against the http://www.senore.com/Cricket/India-c750 at Colombo in July during the same year, taking 8 wickets in the first
Test, and a total of 26 scalps in his first series.
His bowling style relied mostly on mystery, in addition to a host of variations, the most popular among these the “carom ball” – a delivery which uses the middle finger to flick the ball out of the right hand.
However, while the mystery factor of Mendis’ bowling has faded with time, making him slightly ineffective in the longer formats, it continues to serve him well in formats such as the T20, where batsmen do not have the luxury of time and cannot pick him as
easily.
The 27-year-old, a veteran of 84 T20s, with 131 scalps to his credit, will be looking to return with a bang and make an indelible impression as Sri Lanka prepare to face off against the West Indies and India during their warm-up matches, before they kick
the World T20 off with the opening match against http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Zimbabwe-c3045 in Hambantota on September 18.
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