May 25 (CRICKETNMORE) - Nine years on from his international debut, Sri Lanka's Jeevan Mendis describes centre stage at the Cricket World Cup as a 'dream come true'. <\/p>\r\n\r\n
Mendis, now 36, last made a ODI appearance four years ago and spent months training on his own in Colombo in the hope of a bolt from the blue. <\/p>\r\n\r\n
Having shone in South African domestic cricket, Mendis has been pitched back in by the 1996 winners and is hoping to use his experience in English conditions to make a mark. <\/p>\r\n\r\n
"I have just been working on my fitness at my club, Tamil Union, not involved with any cricket really," said Mendis, who spent a season in county cricket at Derbyshire in 2017. <\/p>\r\n\r\n
"I was hoping to maybe get a chance at the World Cup and it's a dream come true. <\/p>\r\n\r\n
"Playing in England was very helpful for me. I learned how to adapt to conditions in this country and how you can still spin the ball.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"It isn't easy to make an impact as a spinner so I will share my experience with the boys and hopefully we can do well."<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Mendis is striking up an unlikely spin partnership with fellow leg spinner Jeffrey Vandersay, himself brought in after nearly two years out of the side. <\/p>\r\n\r\n
The Sri Lanka squad will lean heavily on the experience of newly-appointed skipper Dimuth Karunaratne, Angelo Mathews and Lasith Malinga in their bid to succeed. <\/p>\r\n\r\n
Karunaratne's 87 and 54 from Mathews in warm-up defeat to Sri Lanka suggests Sri Lanka's senior players are primed to spearhead their challenge. <\/p>\r\n\r\n
Mendis, who brings 54 one-day caps to the table, says their first two games against New Zealand and Afghanistan will be crucial as they settle into the tournament. <\/p>\r\n\r\n
"It's a bit difficult blending the squad together," he said.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"But as a team back home, we were training together for one month. We are a young team with experience.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"I think we're still getting used to English conditions. We've played in Scotland already - it was freezing there!<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"The first two games of the World Cup are going to be crucial. <\/p>\r\n\r\n
"If we can do well in those, that will set the tone for a good tournament for Sri Lanka."<\/p>\r\n\r\n
ICC<\/p>\r\n", "image": "https:\/\/img.cricketnmore.com\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Jeevan-Mendis.jpg", "alt_img": "Jeevan Mendis", "alt_title": "ICC Cricket World Cup 2019", "image1": "", "video": "", "seo_title": "Jeevan Mendis describes Sri Lanka World Cup call-up as \u2018dream come true\u2019 On Cricketnmore", "seo_desc": "Nine years on from his international debut, Sri Lanka's Jeevan Mendis describes centre stage at the Cricket World Cup 2019 as a 'dream come true'.\u00a0", "seo_keywords": "Jeevan Mendis, ICC Cricket World Cup 2019", "tag": "", "tagging": "Jeevan Mendis,ICC Cricket World Cup 2019,", "status": "1", "img_rpt": "0", "google": "1", "standout": "0", "edapps": "0", "pulse": "0", "no_index": "0", "feed": "0", "fixture": "0", "slug": "jeevan-mendis-describes-sri-lanka-world-cup-call-up-as-dream-come-true", "user_id": "0", "read_count": "0", "ians_date": "0000-00-00", "ians_time": "00:00:00", "server_time": "0000-00-00 00:00:00", "trash": "0", "view_count": "2275", "page_break": "0", "instant_articles": "1", "auto_link": "1", "created": "2019-05-25 23:10:44", "updated": "2019-05-25 23:10:44", "img_from": "Image - ICC", "img_source": "", "schedule_publish": "0000-00-00 00:00:00", "news_keywords": "Jeevan Mendis, ICC Cricket World Cup 2019, Sri Lanka Cricket", "livescore_text": null, "livescore_link": null, "btn_text": null, "resend_feed": "0", "google_feed": "0", "read_more": "0", "posted_by": "1", "jio_date": "2019-05-25 23:10:44", "scheduled": "0", "news_now": "1", "breaking_news": "0", "google_date": "2019-05-25 23:10:44", "featured": "0", "pred_match_id": null, "article_content_type": null, "link": "https:\/\/www.cricketnmore.com\/cricket-news\/jeevan-mendis-describes-sri-lanka-world-cup-call-up-as-dream-come-true-48292" }