5 current young batsmen who had a great start to their Test careers

#5 Kusal Mendis

Mendis is a key player in a young Sri Lankan side

Mendis could make it to this list on the basis of one innings of his alone, his 176 against Australia. He averages a meagre 35.67 in 32 innings and 16 Tests, having scored 1106 runs at a strike-rate of 58.8.

The 22-year old, who has two centuries and three half-centuries, set the tone for Sri Lanka’s 3-0 whitewash of Australia 6 months back. In the first Test of that series, Sri Lanka started their second innings on a tough pitch with an 86-run deficit. They were 6 for 2 when he arrived at the wicket. He scored 176 in just 254 balls taking them to 274 by the time he departed. Sri Lanka piled on 353 setting Australia a target of 268 runs. Australia were 161 all out and Mendis was awarded the Player of the Match.

Mendis also scored a colossal 194 against Bangladesh recently in a winning cause. With Sri Lanka having serious batting problems, they’ll look for their young ‘ Mr. Dependable’ to give them stability in the coming years.