Lasith Malinga prepares to address the media at the briefing held yesterday, to announce his retirement from Test cricket at the Galle Face hotel, Colombo. (Pic by Kamal Wanniarachchi)
Courtesy - The Island By Revata S. Silva
Clarifying his decision to retire from Test cricket following Sri Lanka’s defeat against India in the World Cup final, Sri Lanka’s ace fast bowler Lasith Malinga reiterated yesterday that his retirement was not due to temptation for hefty amounts of money offered in the Indian Premier League (IPL).
A somber looking Malinga, barring his earrings, etc., addressed the media at the Galle Face hotel, Colombo last afternoon emphasising his Test retirement had been planned as early as last January due to a nagging right knee injury and, in fact, had confirmed Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) earlier, on his non availability for the forthcoming England Test series.
Malinga, the key fast bowler of the IPL franchise Mumbai Indians, owned by tycoon Mukesh Ambani, puzzled local cricket fans for his continued involvement with the money rich Indian franchise, amidst talks on his retirement plans, sparking speculations on the star bowlers’ greediness for money.
"After the selection of the England Test squad (for the forthcoming England tour) there were lots of reports in the media insinuating that I might be feigning an injury to play in the IPL. This was very upsetting as I have always been totally committed to playing for Sri Lanka. I realised then that I was better making a final decision on my Test career and, after discussing with my family, I decided to give up Test cricket. I wrote to the selectors and the cricket board last Friday confirming this and the same afternoon I released a statement to the media," Malinga, who played in his last Test in August 2010 in a career spanning 30 Tests, stated in a media release issued yesterday.
more"I want to clarify my position as to why such a thing (his retirement from Tests) happened. I first experienced my injury on my right knee in 2008 and couldn’t play for 16 to 18 months. I couldn’t even climb the stairs of my house due to that injury. Even the Australian doctor who treated me said it’s a very rare injury which only about four, five sportsmen have got. All others were football players and I was the only cricketer who had got that kind of an injury. And none of the others have recovered from it," said Malinga who took 101 Test wickets since 2004.
"I thank President Mahinda Rajapaksa for directing me to his personal doctor, Dr. Eliyantha White, who cured me. Since I played my last Test in August, I began deteriorating my injury. There is no way I can heal this. It is a matter of managing it so that I can play for three or four years more of international cricket. I thought I can no longer bowl in Tests where I have to bowl at least 15 overs at a stretch. Therefore I decided to retire from Tests. But I hope to continue playing in One-dayers and Twenty20s where I need to bowl only a very few overs," the goldi-locked speedster added.
When asked whether his continued commitments with the IPL would not worsen his injury, he answered in the negative and said he needed to bowl a very few overs in any IPL match.
When inquired whether he liked the concept of the IPL as a whole, Malinga, who emerged from humble beginnings from southern Sri Lanka, answered saying the league was innovative and supportive to improve the game in future.
