"He should be in the Fab Four in the coming days" - Basit Ali on  Sri Lanka's Kamindu Mendis 

Sri Lankan batter Kamindu Mendis is off to a dream start in Test cricket. The 25-year-old stole the show with an unbeaten 182-run knock in the team's ongoing second Test against Sri Lanka at Galle on Friday, September 27.

The southpaw has five Test centuries to his name in just 13 innings. Predicting a bright future for Mendis, former Pakistani batter Basit Ali stated that the player should be among the 'Fab Four' in the future.

The 'Fab Four' is a term coined by the late New Zealand cricketer Martin Crowe. The lists include Virat Kohli, Steve Smith, Kane Williamson and Joe Root.

Meanwhile, Basit also mentioned that Mendis' style of playing the ball late was quite similar to Sri Lankan legend Kumar Sangakkara. In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Basit said (from 1:06):

"What a player he is. I saw him in the England series too, and now in this series as well. He should be in the Fab Four in the coming days. He is just 25 years old and these are early days for him. He plays the ball so late, just like Sangakkara. I liked the player. He has a lot of potential."

Kamindu Mendis has grabbed headlines with his stunning batting exploits. The player is touted to be Sri Lanka's next batting star by many. It is worth mentioning that during his 186*-run knock, he also crossed the 1000-run mark in Test cricket, matching Sir Don Bradman, who also reached the landmark in the same number of innings.

---

Kamindu Mendis' batting exploits helped Sri Lanka register 602/5 in first innings of the ongoing Galle Test

Sri Lanka won the toss and elected to bat first in the ongoing Galle Test. The home team's batters dominated the proceedings on the first two days, with three batters notching up centuries.

Kamindu Mendis was the top performer with the bat, remaining unbeaten on 182. Dinesh Chandimal and Kusal Mendis also did a fine job, scoring 116 and 106*, respectively. Veteran all-rounder Angelo Mathews also chipped in with an 88-run knock.

Sri Lanka ultimately declared their innings at 602/5. Glenn Phillips was the pick of the Kiwi bowlers, bagging a three-wicket haul. New Zealand were off to a shaky start with the bat, losing openers Tom Latham and Devon Conway early. They ultimately finished at 22/2 at Stumps on Day 2.