Lasith Malinga
Lasith Malinga. Photo Credit: Getty Images.

In the latest news, Sri Lankan pacer, Lasith Malinga has pulled out of the inaugural edition of the Lanka Premier League(LPL). The tournament is about to commence on November 27th, and all the matches will be played at the Mahinda Rajapaksa International Cricket Stadium in Hambantota.

Several overseas players and support staff are arriving in the city to be in quarantine before the cricket begins. However, the league has to deal with the major blow Lasith Malinga missing from the tournament. A few more overseas stars such as Chris Gayle, Ravi Bopara, David Miller, David Malan, and Faf du Plessis have decided to skip the tournament.

Lanka premier league
Lanka premier league(Credit-cricket. lk)

Lack of training forced Lasith Malinga to opt-out of LPL 2020:

Lasith Malinga’s news came out of the blue, as not only he is a legend in Sri Lankan cricket and would have been a player in everyone’s focus, but he is also a marquee player for Galle Gladiators.

The seamer has withdrawn from the tournament owing to the lack of competitive cricket and training this year. The Mumbai Indians pacer also opted out of the IPL 2020 in the UAE. Malinga said that he hadn’t played any cricket since March against West Indies and hence he isn’t match-fit.

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Lasith Malinga
Lasith Malinga (Credits: Twitter)

Players will arrive in Hambantota just a week before the league starts. The 37-year-old was not happy when he learned that he had to be in quarantine for three days, which will give him little time to be back at his best. He feels it would be tough for a fast bowler to play matches on consecutive days without much training.

Lasith Malinga told ESPNCricinfo, “Since the West Indies series early this year, I haven’t had any cricket, and there hasn’t been any training for me at all. When the draft happened last month, I thought there would be about three weeks of training before the LPL, but there has been nothing. They are only having us come to Hambantota this week, and even there they are asking us to do three days of quarantine.”

“It’s not easy for a bowler to play at a high level without training. At the LPL they also have matches on back-to-back days. So I decided not to play the tournament,” Malinga added.

Colombo and Kandy will go head to head in the opening game of the LPL 2020 on 26th November.

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