News
IPL
Women’s Premier League (WPL)
Features
Fantasy Cricket
Watch
Interviews
MP T20 League
Social Reactions
Betting Tips
Contact

Why Gujarat Titans Cannot Retain Kusal Mendis for IPL 2026 Despite Impressive Recent Form In Recent International Matches

Vishnu PN

Kusal Mendis played just one match for Gujarat Titans in IPL 2025.

Sri Lanka wicketkeeper-batter Kusal Mendis produced a splendid display as he scored a century in the third ODI against Bangladesh in Pallekele on Tuesday.

This is Kusal Mendis’ sixth century in ODIs and his knock helped Sri Lanka post 285/7 from 50 overs after opting to bat first.

Kusal Mendis thus continued his recent impressive form in international cricket. He scored 84 runs in the first innings of the second Test against Bangladesh recently, and followed it up with knocks of 45 and 56 in the first two ODIs.

Where the third SL vs BAN ODI stands

At the time of writing this report, Bangladesh were 40/2 in the eighth over while looking to chase down a total of 286. Parvez Hossain Emon and Towhid Hridoy were the unbeaten batters. Bangladesh had lost Tanzid Hasan Tamim and Najmul Hossain Shanto early on in the powerplay.

Upcoming – test – United Kingdom
County Championship Division One, 2025
29 Jul 2025, 03:30 PM IST
Nottinghamshire NOT

Somerset SOM

Upcoming – t10 – United Kingdom
ECS England, Wimbledon, 2025
29 Jul 2025, 02:30 PM IST
Weybridge WEY

East Molesey ESM

Upcoming – t10 – United Kingdom
ECS England, Wimbledon, 2025
29 Jul 2025, 04:30 PM IST
Banstead BAN

East Molesey ESM

Upcoming – t10 – United Kingdom
ECS England, Wimbledon, 2025
29 Jul 2025, 06:30 PM IST
Weybridge WEY

Spencer SPE

Upcoming – t10 – United Kingdom
ECS England, Wimbledon, 2025
29 Jul 2025, 08:45 PM IST
Spencer SPE

Banstead BAN

Upcoming – t10 – United Kingdom
ECS England, Wimbledon, 2025
29 Jul 2025, 10:45 PM IST
Weybridge WEY

Banstead BAN

Upcoming – t10 – United Kingdom
ECS England, Wimbledon, 2025
30 Jul 2025, 02:30 PM IST
East Molesey ESM

Spencer SPE

Upcoming – t10 – United Kingdom
ECS England, Wimbledon, 2025
30 Jul 2025, 04:30 PM IST
Twickenham TWI

Spencer SPE

Upcoming – t10 – United Kingdom
ECS England, Wimbledon, 2025
30 Jul 2025, 06:30 PM IST
East Molesey ESM

Weybridge WEY

Upcoming – t10 – United Kingdom
ECS England, Wimbledon, 2025
30 Jul 2025, 08:45 PM IST
Weybridge WEY

Twickenham TWI

Upcoming – t10 – United Kingdom
ECS England, Wimbledon, 2025
30 Jul 2025, 10:45 PM IST
East Molesey ESM

Twickenham TWI

Live – t20 – Kamrup Metropolitan
GTC Spring T20 Cup, 2nd Edition, 2025
Guwahati Giants GUG

197/9

Navarang Club NVR

41/5

Upcoming – t20 – Kamrup Metropolitan
GTC Spring T20 Cup, 2nd Edition, 2025
29 Jul 2025, 01:15 PM IST
City Cricket Club CCC

Gauhati Town Club GTC

Upcoming – t20 – Kamrup Metropolitan
GTC Spring T20 Cup, 2nd Edition, 2025
30 Jul 2025, 09:00 AM IST
Bud Cricket Club BCC

91 Yards Club 91YC

Upcoming – t20 – Kamrup Metropolitan
GTC Spring T20 Cup, 2nd Edition, 2025
30 Jul 2025, 01:15 PM IST
Nabajyoti Club NAJC

Guwahati Giants GUG

Upcoming – t10 – Kuwait City
KCC T10 Summer League, 2025
29 Jul 2025, 10:15 PM IST
Phoenix Cricketers PCR

Bihar CC BCC

Upcoming – t10 – Kuwait City
KCC T10 Summer League, 2025
30 Jul 2025, 12:15 AM IST
Gujrat Cricket Club GUJCC

Khan Zalmi Kings KZK

Upcoming – t10 – Kuwait City
KCC T10 Summer League, 2025
30 Jul 2025, 10:15 PM IST
Royal Trivianz RTZ

Keraniganj Challengers KGC

Upcoming – t10 – Kuwait City
KCC T10 Summer League, 2025
31 Jul 2025, 12:15 AM IST
Tally Rangers TCC

Jhelum Jaguars JJ

Upcoming – test – Bulawayo
New Zealand tour of Zimbabwe, Test, 2025
30 Jul 2025, 01:30 PM IST
Zimbabwe ZIM

New Zealand NZ

Live – t20 – Kabul
Shpageeza Cricket League, 2025
Amo Sharks ASS

128/10

Boost Defenders BDS

Upcoming – t20 – Kabul
Shpageeza Cricket League, 2025
29 Jul 2025, 03:00 PM IST
Band-e-Amir Dragons BAD

Mis Ainak Knights MAK

Upcoming – t20 – Kabul
Shpageeza Cricket League, 2025
30 Jul 2025, 10:00 AM IST
Band-e-Amir Dragons BAD

Amo Sharks ASS

Upcoming – t20 – Kabul
Shpageeza Cricket League, 2025
30 Jul 2025, 03:00 PM IST
Speen Ghar Tigers SGT

Boost Defenders BDS

Upcoming – t20 – Trinidad and Tobago
USA Women U19 tour of West Indies, 2025
29 Jul 2025, 07:30 PM IST
West Indies Women U19 WIU19-W

United States Of America Women U19 USAU19-W

Upcoming – t20 – Trinidad and Tobago
USA Women U19 tour of West Indies, 2025
30 Jul 2025, 07:30 PM IST
West Indies Women U19 WIU19-W

United States Of America Women U19 USAU19-W

Upcoming – oneday – Birmingham
Women’s One Day Cup, 2025
30 Jul 2025, 03:00 PM IST
 Birmingham Bears Women BRB-W

Surrey Women SUR-W

Upcoming – t20 – Leicester
World Championship of Legends, 2025
29 Jul 2025, 05:00 PM IST
Australia Champions AAC

Pakistan Champions PNC

Upcoming – t20 – Leicester
World Championship of Legends, 2025
29 Jul 2025, 09:00 PM IST
India Champions IAC

West Indies Champions WIC

Earlier in the match, apart from Kusal Mendis, skipper Charith Asalanka (58) and opener Pathum Nissanka (35) made crucial contributions with the bat.

The three-match ODI series is currently level 1-1. Sri Lanka won the first ODI by 77 runs whereas Bangladesh clinched a 16-run win in the second ODI.

Why Gujarat Titans cannot retain Kusal Mendis for IPL 2026

Earlier this year, the 30-year-old turned up for Gujarat Titans (GT) in IPL 2025 after he was named as a replacement for England’s Jos Buttler.

He played just one match, the Eliminator against Mumbai (MI), which the Shubman Gill-led side lost. In that match, Kusal Mendis scored 20 runs from 10 balls, hitting one four and two sixes. However, despite being named as a replacement, Kusal Mendis cannot be retained by Gujarat Titans ahead of IPL 2026 even if they wanted to.

ALSO READ:

It was during the one-week suspension of IPL 2025 when Gujarat Titans had announced Kusal Mendis as replacement for Jos Buttler. Kusal Mendis, however, was only a temporary replacement for Jos Buttler, who had to miss the IPL 2025 playoffs due to international commitments with England.

This also meant that Kusal Mendis wasn’t able to play for Gujarat Titans till May 26, which was a day after their final league stage match. Jos Buttler, as a result, ended up playing all the league stage matches before flying back home.

When foreign players decided against returning for IPL 2025

After the IPL was suspended for a week following the India-Pakistan political tensions, several overseas players including Mitchell Starc, Moeen Ali and Jake Fraser-McGurk pulled out of the remainder of the tournament. This meant that IPL franchises were allowed to replace those players with “temporary replacements” for the rest of the season.

“Given the non-availability of certain foreign players due to national commitments or personal reasons or any injury or illness, Temporary Replacement Players will be allowed until the conclusion of this tournament,” the IPL had said in a statement.

“This decision is subject to the condition that the Temporary Replacement players taken from this point forward will not be eligible for retention in the following year. Temporary Replacement players will have to register for the IPL Player Auction 2026,” the statement added.

Gujarat Titans lost to Mumbai Indians by 20 runs in the Eliminator of IPL 2025, which meant that the former champions’ campaign came to an end. Gujarat Titans had finished third in the IPL 2025 standings with 18 points from 14 matches.

For more updates, follow CricXtasy on FacebookInstagramTwitterTelegram, and YouTube.