New Zealand vs Sri Lanka 2018/19: We Have To Prove Sri Lanka Is Best - Lasith Malinga

Well, the last few years, especially, after the retirement of the greats in the game, Sri Lanka has struggled to the core. They have come through a lot of poor stuff in international cricket, which saw them going down pretty low in the ICC Rankings as well. Meanwhile, the experienced lad Lasith Malinga wants to stop giving reasons and concentrate on the upcoming ICC World Cup 2019.

Ranked eighth in the world, the 1996 World Cup Champions Sri Lanka haven’t had the best of times recently. They lost home ODI series to England and South Africa and had earlier been knocked out of the 2018 Asia Cup in the group stage itself.

It is the time to rebuild – Lasith Malinga

But with a new captain in Malinga, who seems to have turned a corner in the last year or so, the Islanders will be hoping for a fresh start in the new year. They want to concentrate on those things, which are hurting them in the middle.

He pointed out that the start is very important, which they were failing on a consistent basis. By looking at the graph, Malinga quoted that they are ending the series well but he cited that missing factor was the start of the series.

“Whatever the game is we need a good start – that’s something we need to concentrate on,” Malinga said on the eve of the first ODI against New Zealand. “Our first ten overs, we have to assess conditions and build partnerships. We can then accelerate towards the end of the innings. In the last couple of series we’ve performed well at the end, so I think what people have to understand is that we have to perform well when the series starts,” Malinga said.

“Now is not the time to rebuild. More than three years have gone since the great players have retired. The next World Cup is this year. Now we have to prove who is the best in Sri Lankan cricket. All the players are keen to do that. We’ll try to start 2019 well. We have another eight matches before the World Cup,” Lasith Malinga quoted.

Well, as Lasith Malinga said, the next 8 matches are pretty important for Sri Lanka ahead of ICC World Cup 2019. Meanwhile, it would be interesting to see how he tackles the captaincy in the upcoming game against Kiwis.