Duleep Mendis has a special place in Sri Lankan cricket. He was the captain when Sri Lanka won a Test series for the first time ever. He was also the captain when they managed to draw a series for the first time. Both came against India. He also played a pivotal role with the bat in both series. His century in each innings against India in 1982 in Madras helped Sri Lanka save a Test match in which they were staring at defeat. In 1985 he led from the front against the Indian as he piled up three fifties and a ton to help Sri Lanka clinch the series.

Mendis began playing cricket for Sri Lanka at the age of 20. Most of these games were not given international status and he had to wait for seven years after making his ODI debut to play a Test. The additional burden of captaincy was hoisted on him in only his third Test but Mendis took on the challenge and led Sri Lanka admirably in their infant stages. It was not all sweet though for Mendis on the cricket field. He was infamously sent to the hospital by a rampaging Jeff Thomson in the 1975 World Cup. Thomson hit Mendis on the head with a fast bouncer which led to Mendis having a concussion.

Duleep Mendis continued to play a big part in Sri Lankan cricket after retirement. He was the manager of the team when Sri Lanka won the World Cup in 1996. He also served as the Chief Executive of the Sri Lankan cricket board from 2004. He resigned for a short while after disputes with the Sri Lankan government but took over again after a year. In April 2011, Mendis was appointed the chief selector for the Sri Lankan national team.

Following the agonizing defeat at the hands of India in the 2011 World Cup final, he called for the injection of fresh legs into the setup. Later on, Sri Lanka Cricket revamped its selection panel with Sanath Jayasuriya taking over the reins.

By Ganesh Chandrasekaran