It’s not every day that battle-hardened cricketers drop their guard and go into what appears to be a minor bout of delirium. Arjuna Ranatunga, Aravinda de Silva, Mahela Jayawardene, Kumar Sangakkara and Muttiah Muralitharan aren’t Islanders cut off from the outside world but Sri Lankan greats renowned for their cricketing acumen. But mention two words — Ajantha Mendis — and they suddenly start speaking in excited tones.

While the Indians were busy celebrating their Test win over South Africa in the second week of April, and keeping an eye on the IPL countdown, far away in West Indies a never-before-seen cricketing spectacle was unfolding. Mendis’s ODI debut saw the game face a new question: How to slot a bowler who is an offie one moment and leggie the next? Batsmen and commentators were stunned since a regular Mendis over had an off-break, leg-spinner, flipper, googly, straighter delivery and one ball that the bowler flicked with his thumb and index finger like a carom striker.

Suddenly Muralitharan, who missed the West Indies tour, seemed predictable, and Murali II was proving to be more intriguing with those extra twists and turns.

In just over a week, Mendis will be in Pakistan for the Asia Cup playing international cricket for the first time in the sub-continent, though he did turn out in one game for the Kolkata Knight Riders against Kings XI Punjab after being signed at a late stage for the IPL. With the new ‘freak show’ coming soon to world cricket’s epicentre, it isn’t tough to guess where the spotlight is headed.

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