'India were caught napping on Mendis' - Wadekar

Sa'adi Thawfeeq

	Ajantha Mendis was India's tormentor in chief during Sri Lanka's 2-1 triumph in the Test series © AFP

India were not prepared enough to face Ajantha Mendis in the recently concluded Test series and didn't have a plan, former national captain Ajit Wadekar has said. Mendis, an unorthodox legspinner who made his debut in the first Test in Colombo, dominated the Indian batting line-up during the series - which Sri Lanka won 2-1 - to finish with a record 26 wickets.

"To be frank, India were caught napping. They did not plan to tackle Mendis properly," Wadekar said. "They did not decide which of the batsmen should go after him. That's basically how one should go about things at the international level, regardless of whether the batsman gets out."

Wadekar said an attacking approach was needed against Mendis. "One should try to hit him out of the attack, not give him a chance to spin the ball both ways. One has to take chances otherwise he will always get on top," Wadekar said. "With such a good batting line-up I am surprised why no one decided to take him on."

Mendis' abilities with the ball impressed Wadekar. "It's really amazing to see him hold the ball with his carrom-like grip, bowl at pace, and be absolutely accurate," he said. "He's got tremendous variations and he is going to be one of the wonders of the game as far as bowling is concerned."

Mendis, he said, reminded him of John Gleeson, whom he faced when Australia toured India in 1969. "Gleeson was a similar type of bowler but he could not bowl at pace because of his difficult grip. He would flight the ball, so we managed to kill the spin by stepping out," he said. "It became much easier to face him [Gleeson] as the tour went on. It wasn't as difficult as with Mendis, who is much quicker, faster and accurate."

Wadekar also spoke about two Indian spinners from his playing days who were similar to Mendis. "I have faced Subhash Gupte, who was a genuine legspinner. He was much slower then Mendis, but very tricky.

"Bhagwat Chandrasekhar was another such bowler. If he got wickets in his first two overs, he became unplayable because he would begin to vary his deliveries a lot," he said. "When we [the Mumbai side] played him in domestic cricket, he would try and not give him an early wicket."

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Mendis named as ICC's Emerging Player

ICC Awards 2008

Cricinfo staff

	Ajantha Mendis and Mahela Jayawardene pose for a picture with their trophies at the ICC Awards in Dubai. Jayawardene collected Sri Lanka's Spirit of Cricket award © Getty Images

Ajantha Mendis, Sri Lanka's 23-year-old spinner, has won the Emerging Player of the Year award at the ICC Awards ceremony in Dubai.

With his mesmerising brand of spin bowling, Mendis has exploded on to the international scene in recent months. In just three Tests against India in July and August, he claimed 26 wickets at an average of 18.38, leaving batsmen trying to work out a new way to play, with his unique array of deliveries, including the so-called Carrom ball.

And it wasn't just in Tests. During the voting period, Mendis played eight ODIs for Sri Lanka including a victorious Asia Cup campaign, and in the process bagged 20 wickets at an average of just 10.25, making him the stand-out newcomer to top-flight cricket.

Mendis was the top choice of the 25-person voting academy, coming in ahead of England's allrounder Stuart Broad, South Africa's fast bowler Morne Morkel and Ishant Sharma of India.

Accepting his award in Dubai from his Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardena, Mendis said: "I am delighted to win the award. It is an honour to play for Sri Lanka and I hope to continue playing for my country for a long time to come."

The Emerging Player of the Year Award was one of eight individual prizes given at this year's ICC Awards. Players eligible for this award must be under 26 years of age at the start of the voting period (August 9, 2007) and have played no more than five Test matches and/or 10 ODIs before the start of the voting period.

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I need to find new ways to beat Indians - Mendis

Cricinfo staff

Ajantha Mendis, the Sri Lankan spinner, has said he will need to find ways to beat the Indians after they managed to play him reasonably well during the recently-concluded one-day series. India won the series 3-2 and Mendis took 13 wickets at 11.69 but he said the Indians played him cautiously.

"Talented batsmen learn quickly and correct their mistakes," Mendis told the Sunday Lakbima News, a Sri Lanka-based weekly. "It should be like that. I didn't expect it to be so successful. But I should say this - I've a long way to go."

Mendis also said English counties Sussex, Surrey and Kent had expressed interest in him but he decided to take a month off to rest. He also planned to work on his batting during the period.

He asked fans and the media not to expect too much from him for that put him under a lot of pressure. "I'm still new to this field. Don't worry. I know how to use my head. I don't run after money. My first place is for cricket. I'll get everything if only I play well."

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