The pacer had announced his retirement from franchise cricket earlier this year. He is only available to play T20 matches for Sri Lanka.
Follow Us
In recent history, if Sri Lanka has had one player that has consistently performed at the highest level, both for the national side and for domestic competitions, it is pacer Lasith Malinga. Malinga is arguably the nation’s greatest ever fast bowler. The 37-year-old mostly specializes in death bowling in T20 matches. He has had an untouchable record with the Lankan lions and has even managed to win the 2014 ICC World T20 title. With the 2021 edition just a few months away, Malinga has been out of the discussions for making it to the side that travels to the United Arab Emirates, but the 37-year-old believes that he still has what it takes to perform at the highest level for his country.
Malinga’s skill with the ball is quite simply undeniable. What might stem out as an issue for the pacer would be his fitness. Let’s face it, at 37, it is next to impossible to maintain that level of fitness. Especially for a fast bowler whose run-up itself is quite exerting, paired with a rather unorthodox release. As per the policy of the Sri Lankan cricket board, a player must clear a 2 km run to become eligible for national selection. At his age, it is not very likely that he will get past this initial stage.
“It’s not about the T20 World Cup, I’m not going to retire. I can still bowl 24 balls. I am not able to complete the 2km and run. That’s why I’m staying home. I can however bowl for about two hours without any issue,” the pacer said on Russell Arnold’s YouTube show, ‘Chilling with Russell’.
“I can bowl 24 straight balls, I can even bowl 200 balls, but because of the 2km fitness test, I’m staying home because I know I can’t complete it,” Malinga continued. He did not hold back while speaking about Sri Lanka Cricket’s (SLC) selection policy while citing his own example of when he took a double hatrick against New Zealand in August 2019.
“I took 4 wickets in 4 balls against New Zealand at Kandy, I was 35 years old at that time. Nobody complained about my tummy or fitness on that occasion,” Malinga said.
The pacer had announced his retirement from franchise cricket earlier this year. He is only available to play T20 matches for his national team. Needless to say, the former Sri Lankan captain would be raring to play the ICC T20 World Cup 2021, which will get underway in October in the UAE. However, the talismanic pacer will probably not get a place in the squad if he does not pass the mandatory fitness test.
