Sri Lankan spinner Ajantha Mendis retires from all forms of cricket

Mystery spinner Ajantha Mendis has announced his retirement from all forms of cricket at the age of 34. The tweaker was a big part of Sri Lankan cricket in recent times and had one of the most impactful introductions to international cricket. He follows in the footsteps of Nuwan Kulasekara who also announced his retirement from international cricket.

When he initially burst on to the scene, almost every batsman found it difficult to decode the mystery of Ajantha Mendis. This propelled him to the top of the international scene. With his early exploits, many believed that he would turn out to be the long-term successor of Muttiah Muralitharan for Sri Lanka across all formats of the game. He overtook Ajit Agarkar in becoming the quickest bowler to pick up 50 wickets in ODIs. It took him only 19 matches to accomplish this feat.

But once the batsmen started to figure him out and played him as a slower version of a medium-pacer, his impact slowly began to decline. He then faded out of international reckoning for Sri Lanka, playing his last Test match in 2014 and last ODI in 2015.

Overall, Mendis played 19 Test matches for Sri Lanka, picking up 70 wickets at an average of 34.77 with 4 five-wicket hauls. He had a much bigger impact in ODI cricket, playing 87 matches and picking up 152 wickets at an exceptional average of 21.87 with 3 five-wicket hauls. He also has a staggering record in T20Is, playing 39 matches and scalping 66 wickets at an average 14.42 with 2 5-fers.

The 34-year old also tried his luck in the IPL, without much success. He played 10 matches across his spells for Kolkata Knight Riders and Pune Warriors, only managing to pick up 8 wickets.