After a couple of poor seasons, the Sri Lankan legendary fast bowler Lasith Malinga set to make a return to the Indian Premier League sooner than the later. He is all set to play for Mumbai Indians in the next couple of matches before returning back to Sri Lanka once again.
Earlier, it was reported that Malinga might miss the first six matches for Mumbai Indians in order to take part in a tournament in Sri Lanka. Jayawardene, however, said that Mumbai Indians weren’t informed of his lack of availability during this phase and that there needs to be some sort of ‘communication’ before the matter is resolved.
We have no objection – Sri Lankan official
However, the Board of Control for Cricket in India requested Sri Lanka Cricket to make Lasith Malinga available for IPL as much as he can. Islanders considered the plea of BCCI, which prompted them to send the fast bowler for a couple of matches before the start of the local tournament.
So, Lasith Malinga will head to India for the next couple of matches for Mumbai Indians. After that, he would return back to Sri Lanka to play the one weeklong ODI tournament in order to check out things for the upcoming ICC World Cup 2019.
It means that the flamboyant cricketer will be available for both away games – on March 28 against Royal Challengers Bangalore and on March 30 against Kings XI Punjab. Malinga is then likely to return to Sri Lanka to feature in the Super Provincial One-Day Tournament before rejoining Mumbai after April 10.
“We have no issues if he goes to IPL. The board had given him a no-objection certificate already. So he’s free to go,” said de Mel. “Anyway he has been one of our best bowlers in one dayers. So there’s no question about his place in the team.”
Last season, Malinga was part of Mumbai Indians’ support staff. But this year, the franchise brought him back as a specialist bowler for INR 2 Crores. Recently, selectors have made it mandatory for Sri Lanka players to participate in a 50-overs tournament at home if they want to be considered for ICC World Cup selection.
In the first game of the tournament, Mumbai Indians lost to Delhi Capitals at their home ground Wankhede Stadium. They would like to make a strong return in the tournament.
