Sri Lanka, Jan. 26 -- Mendis, who scored 1451 runs across formats at an average just above 50, rubbed shoulders with some of the greats of the game in 2024.

The flamboyant left-handed batter had made just a solitary Test appearance for Sri Lanka prior to 2024, but ended the year having not only cemented his place as an all-format resource for Sri Lanka but also becoming their go-to-player in moments of crises and when the stakes were high.

This was on the show during Sri Lanka's push for a maiden ICC World Test Championship Final spot as the 26-year-old delivered a streak of big scores in the whites.

Slotting in the middle-order, Mendis was one of the six batters who scored over 1000 Test runs in the recently concluded calendar year - ...