Fast bowler Lasith Malinga’s failure to make it to the preliminary squad of 20 named by the Lankan cricket selectors for next month’s Hero Nidahas trophy T20 tri-series with India and Bangladesh may mark the end of his career in international cricket.
Malinga, 34 has been trying to impress the selectors with some impressive performances for NCC in the ongoing SLC Twenty20 tournament inspiring them to three successive wins with eight wickets taken at an average of 10.62 and an economy rate of 7.08, making him the second highest wicket-taker in the tournament after Colts left-arm spinner Prabath Jayasuriya who has 10 wickets.
But with the next cricket World Cup scheduled for 2019 and the next World T20 for 2020, Malinga who has lost some of his deadly pace that had once made him a feared bowler in the one-day format is most unlikely to be in the national selectors’ shortlist.
Malinga’s last appearance for his country was in September last year against India in a T20 international at R Premadasa Stadium. He also failed retain his place with Mumbai Indians and to attract any bidders for this year’s IPL.
With Sri Lanka producing so many match winners in recent matches in the form of 22-year-old fast bowler Shehan Madushanka who performed a hat-trick on his ODI debut, and the return of Dushmantha Chameera to white ball cricket and the vast improvement made in his overall cricket by fast bowling all-rounder Thisara Perera, the chances of Malinga finding a place in the eleven is fast diminishing.
Wicket-keeper/batsman Kusal Perera and fast bowlers Nuwan Pradeep and Chameera who were nursing injuries proved their fitness by playing in the SLC Twenty20 tournament and find themselves selected in the 20member squad.
MATHEWS RULED OUT
However white ball captain Angelo Mathews once again has to sit on the sidelines. His run with bad luck has not deserted him as he is reported now to have strained a calf muscle during training just days after recovering from a hamstring injury he suffered during the second match of the one-day tri-series in Bangladesh.
Mathews’ continuous battle with injuries has been put down by the Lanka team physios to his heavy work load in previous years where he played as an all-rounder in addition to shouldering the captaincy across all three formats.
In his absence the burden of captaincy has once again fallen on the shoulders of Dinesh Chandimal who led Sri Lanka to victories in the Bangladesh one-day tri-series and the T20 international series.
The final squad of 15 players will be named announced today. The tournament commences on March 6.
SRI LANKA T20 PRELIMINARY SQUAD:
Dinesh Chandimal (Captain), Upul Tharanga, Danushka Gunathilaka, Kusal Mendis, Dasun Shanaka, Kusal Perera, Thisara Perera, Jeewan Mendis, Suranga Lakmal, Niroshan Dickwella, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Isuru Udana, Jeffrey Vandersay, Akila Dananjaya, Amila Aponso, Asitha Fernando, Lahiru Kumara, Nuwan Pradeep, Dushmantha Chameera, Dananjaya de Silva.
dailynews.lk
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