Mendis gives credit to Murali

Ajantha Mendis picks up his award at the ICC ceremony

Sri Lanka star Ajantha Mendis hailed the influence of fellow spinner Muttiah Muralitharan after being named ICC Emerging Player of the Year.

Mendis was handed the honour at cricket’s annual awards ceremony in Dubai on Wednesday thanks to a fine performance in the Test and one-day series against India.

Mendis burst to prominence with a six-wicket haul against India in the final of the Asia Cup.

He then helped Sri Lanka secure a 2-1 Test series against India, finishing with a haul of 26 wickets.

Mendis also finished the top wicket-taker in the one-day series with 13 scalps.

"I never dreamt of this a year ago," Mendis said through an interpreter after receiving the award. "It has been fantastic playing for Sri Lanka.

"I picked up a lot of wickets only because Murali was bowling at the other end.

"He put a lot of pressure on the batsmen and so I got the opportunity to get the wickets.

"He also guided me on how to control the ball and how to be patient while bowling against a top-class batting line-up.

"But the most important thing he taught me was to never be afraid of the opposition.

"He also taught me the importance of planning a batsman's dismissal.”

Mendis said he was still looking to improve his bowling.

"Right now I am concentrating on my accuracy and also want to be more aggressive,” he said."I need to learn to bowl in different conditions too.”