Malinga available for T20s

COLOMBO: Veteran Sri Lankan pace bowler Lasith Malinga Tuesday confirmed he will retire from One-Day International cricket after the first match against Bangladesh but hopes to play T20 cricket.

Malinga invited fans to his farewell ODI at the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo on Friday and said the cricket board agreed to his request to retire from the 50-over format of the game.

Posting a video message to his fans on his wife’s Facebook page, Malinga said he felt no ill will towards officials and players who may have tried to push him out of the team.

The 35-year-old said he was sidelined by the selectors two years ago but was able to prove his value to the national team at the recent World Cup.

“Friday will be the last day you will see me playing an ODI match,” Malinga said.

“If you can, please come for the match.”

During practice on Tuesday ahead of the first ODI against Bangladesh, Malinga said he hoped to play T20 cricket and had his sights on the 2020 World Cup in Australia.

“I hope to be able to take Sri Lanka to the next T20 World Cup,” he said.

“I hope I will have an opportunity to play in that tournament, but if there are better players than me, I don’t mind being left out.”

Malinga’s retirement was first announced by skipper Dimuth Karunaratne, who on Monday told reporters the right-arm fast bowler indicated Friday’s match would be his last ODI appearance.

Malinga was named to the 22-man Sri Lanka squad for the series with matches scheduled for July 26, 28 and 31 at the R. Premadasa Stadium.

He will leave as Sri Lanka’s third-highest wicket-taker in ODI cricket with 335 wickets in 219 innings so far.

Only Muttiah Muralitharan (523) and Chaminda Vaas (399) have taken more wickets than Malinga in ODIs for Sri Lanka.

He was Sri Lanka’s highest wicket-taker at the World Cup, claiming 13 scalps in seven innings.

Malinga retired from Test cricket in 2011 but continued to remain available in other formats.

Meanwhile, Sri Lanka will start looking to replace Malinga when the shaggy-haired fast bowler calls it quits on Friday.

Both teams go into the three-game series nursing a World Cup hangover, with Sri Lanka facing an especially tough rebuilding task with the loss of the instantly recognisable Malinga.

The blond-highlighted bowler with the distinctive sling action proved his enduring worth when he tormented England during the World Cup, taking 4-43 as Sri Lanka stunned the eventual champions in the group stage.

Malinga, 35, is Sri Lanka’s third-highest ODI wicket-taker with 335 wickets from 225 matches, behind only Chaminda Vaas (399) and Muttiah Muralitharan (523). Malinga needs three wickets to overhaul Anil Kumble’s 337 for ninth place on the international list.

Sri Lanka captain Dimuth Karunaratne said finding a replacement for Malinga, who is retiring from One-Day Internationals, is just one of many challenges ahead following a disappointing World Cup.

“I think if you take the World Cup, we did fairly good. In patches we did really well and sometimes we didn’t do very well,” he said.

“We know we need to find a wicket-taking bowler because Lasith Malinga is not available after this series.

“We need to find the bowlers who can take wickets in the middle part and the early overs. Those are the areas. I need some good youngsters, we need to groom some youngsters for the next World Cup,” he said.

However, Sri Lanka’s problems don’t end there, as coach Chandika Hathurusingha and his assistants will be shown the door after the Bangladesh series because of their sixth-place finish in England.