CWC 2023: 'What I Said Was Wrong', Kusal Mendis On Not Congratulating Virat Kohli For His 49th ODI Century

Sri Lankan batter Kusal Mendis admitted that he regrets not congratulating Virat Kohli on his 49th ODI hundred amid the 2023 World Cup. Mendis reflected that scoring 49 centuries is not easy by any stretch of imagination and suggested feeling stumped by the question.

Ahead of the 2023 World Cup clash against Bangladesh, a journalist asked Sri Lanka's stand-in captain whether he would like to congratulate Kohli on his 49th ODI century. Mendis responded to it bluntly, saying, 'Why should I congratulate?'

During a recent interaction, the 28-year-old revealed that he wasn't aware of Kohli's 49th century, stating:

"During the press conference, I wasn't aware that Kohli scored his 49th Hundred, when journalist suddenly asked, I don't know what to say & I didn't understand the question as well - scoring 49 hundreds is not easy - what I said was wrong, I am feeling for it," Mendis reflected.

"It is a stuff of dreams" - Virat Kohli after scoring his 49th ODI hundred

During the innings break of that game, Kohli stated that it was unbelievable to level with Sachin Tendulkar and reflected that batting deeply paid rich dividends.

"It is a stuff of dreams. It is good to score a century on my birthday and help my team. It is an honour to play for my country and I will continue to perform for my team as long as I can. The pitch was a bit challenging as ball was not coming nicely on the bat. I decided to bat deep and with Shreyas Iyer at the other end, we could rotate the strike easily. Iyer started hitting shots after settling down. I was not expecting a score of 326 but this is what happens when you stay till the end."

Team India are the only unbeaten side in the 2023 World Cup.