Dubai: Ajantha Mendis's enigmatic run in international cricket has caught the game's fraternity with as much surprise as the Sri Lankan sensation's unpredictable deliveries.
From just three Tests the 23-year-old unorthodox bowler has bagged 26 wickets apart from pocketing 33 wickets from 13 One-dayers.
Mendis's sensational run has made him one of the nominees for the International Cricket Council Emerging Player of the Year award.
The soft-spoken Mendis, who answers every question with a smile, needed the help of his captain Mahela Jayawardene to translate from Sinhalese to English.
When asked whose wicket does he cherished the most, Mendis said: "Sachin Tendulkar's wicket is the best among all. I could not get his wicket in the first two matches and I felt I might not be able to get him out. Finally, I got him in the second innings of the last Test and thus stopped him from reaching a world record," he said with a twinkle in his eyes.
However, in his opinion the master blaster was not the toughest batsman to bowl to. Instead, he rates Virender Sehwag the toughest among all the Indians, who are generally good players against spin.
"Sehwag tried to take too many chances against me and I had to bowl at good areas to contain him," said Mendis.
This young spinner admitted that the series against India had added to his confidence.
"Before the series everyone told me that Indians are the best players of spin. So it turned out to be a big challenge for me. When I got the Indian batsmen out it added to my confidence. My goal now is to try and work hard and go on to do well against all countries," he added with great enthusiasm.
Rich tributes
Mendis refused to take all the credit for himself and paid rich tributes to Muttiah Muralitharan.
"I picked up a lot of wickets mainly due to Muralitharan bowling at the other end. He put a lot of pressure on the batsmen and so I got the opportunity to get the wickets. He also kept guiding me on how to control the ball and how to be patient while bowling against top class batting line-up."
What is his best advice from Muralitharan?
"The most important thing he told me is never to be afraid of the opposition. He also taught me the importance of planning to get a batsman out," he said.
Mendis has been compared with great spinners of the past like Jack Iverson and Johnny Gleeson and when asked about them, he said: "Frankly I have not heard about them."
Mendis, after an astonishing run, is still keen on improving his bowling.
"Right now I am concentrating on my accuracy and also want to be more aggressive. I need to learn to bowl in different conditions too," he concluded.
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