Is Lasith Malinga eyeing Sri Lanka comeback for ICC World T20 2021?
Lasith Malinga is a Sri Lankan pacer who represented the side across formats between 2004-2020. Although he had announced retirement from Tests, One-Day Internationals and domestic Twenty20, he did not announce the same from T20Is.
FollowSri Lanka's bowling attack could be heavily boosted as prolific seamer Lasith Malinga is eyeing a comeback to the national side in a bid to feature in the ICC World T20 2021. Lanka's chairman of the national selection committee, Pramodya Wickramasinghe, has said that talks regarding the same would soon be held with the 37-year-old pacer.
"We will talk to Lasith soon. He is in our plans for the forthcoming T20 tours, including the T20 World Cup coming up in October. We are working out a long-term plan aiming at the 2023 (50-over) World Cup. There, our main focus is to adjust ourselves to forming an accurate average in terms of two main aspects. Those are the age and the fitness," he told Morning Sports.
"We always should not forget that he is one of the greatest bowlers in our country, even in his present form. His records speak for that. There are two back-to-back T20 World Cups that are coming up this year and next year. We are going to discuss our plans with him when we meet him in the next couple of days," he added.
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Malinga did announce his retirement from the shortest format in the domestic circuit earlier this year. However, with two WT20s scheduled for 2021 and 2022, Lanka lack enough experienced pace bowling attack, while Malinga would play a vital role in guiding the attack.
Speaking on his comeback, Malinga, too, confirmed that he would be hosting talks with the national selectors soon. "I have retired from both Test and ODI cricket but not from T20s. I also am keen to know how the selection committee is going to get the services of a senior player like me for the national side. In my career, I have proved on many occasions that I can come back after a long break and perform well for my country," he reckoned.
Malinga has been a force in the Twenty20s, claiming 107 wickets in 84 T20Is at an economy of 7.42, besides scalping 390 in 289 T20 innings at 7.07. He played for Mumbai Indians until the 2020 Indian Premier League, claiming 170 in 122 at 7.14 and winning record five titles with the side.
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