Among the eminently stylish cricketers that Sri Lanka has produced over the years, Duleep Mendis was an early pioneer. In the 1970s and 80s, when the island nation was making a foray into international cricket, Mendis was a leading figure in some of its noteworthy deeds. He smashed a 57-ball 64 in Sri Lanka’s first-ever ODI win, against India in the 1979 World Cup at Manchester.

It was with Mendis as captain that Sri Lanka registered its maiden Test win, also against India, in Colombo in 1985. By then he had already smashed hundreds in both innings of a Test against India in Madras, and narrowly missed the feat at Lord’s when he hammered 111 and 94 against England in the summer of 1984.

After retirement, he went on to be manager of the Sri Lankan team that won the 1996 ODI World Cup in t

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