Mendis Reacts After His 'Why Would I Congratulate Kohli' Remark Goes Viral

Sri Lanka captain Kusal Mendis has apologised for his recent comment during the Cricket World Cup 2023. During a press conference, the player was asked by a journalist if he would like to congratulate India batter Virat Kohli for scoring a record-equalling 49th ODI century. To this, Mendis replied, "Why I would congratulate him?" with a smile. The reaction of the Sri Lanka player didn't go down well and he was subjected to criticism for it. However, now, Mendis has cleared the air on his reaction.

"On that day I went for the press conference and I was not aware that Virat had scored a century, when suddenly that journalist asked that question, I didn't know what to say, And also I didn't understand the question clearly, scoring 49 ODI tons is not an easy job to do, Virat is one of the brilliant cricketers in the world, later I realized what i said was absolutely wrong," said Mendis as quoted by Asian Mirror.

"I now feel I shouldn't have reacted the way I did," he apologised.

A sequence of events unfolded in Sri Lankan cricket following the team's disappointing run in the ongoing World Cup in India. Sri Lanka could manage only two wins from nine games and failed to qualify for the semifinals.

The International Cricket Council on Friday suspended its full-member Sri Lanka after observing government interference in the national board following a tumultuous week.

The Sri Lankan parliament on Thursday unanimously passed a resolution, calling for the sacking of the country's cricket governing body, with both the ruling and opposition parties supporting it.

The resolution passed by Sri Lankan parliament amounted to government interference and that was enough ground for the ICC Board to suspend Sri Lanka's membership.

Earlier, several hundred people had turned up near the premises of the SLC headquarters calling for the resignation of the management.

The criticism of the national team's performance grew louder when Sri Lanka were bowled out for 55 in the run chase against India in Mumbai. Sri Lanka had also lost badly to India in the preceding Asia Cup where they were bowled out for 50 in the final played on September 17.

The first time the ICC handed a suspension to a full member was back in 2021 when Zimbabwe Cricket was suspended due to government interference.