"He is in our plans for the T20 World Cup" - Sri Lanka National Selection Chairman on Lasith Malinga
Sri Lankan pacer Lasith Malinga will meet with national selectors soon to discuss his future plans. The 37-year-old pacer might be at the twilight of his career but is still in Sri Lanka’s plans for the upcoming T20 World Cup.
Sri Lanka National Selection Committee Chairman Pramodya Wickramasinghe said they will discuss the plans for the upcoming T20 fixtures and the mega-event later this year with the Sri Lankan veteran over the next few days.
“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,” the National Selection Committee Chairman Pramodya Wickramasinghe told the Morning Newspaper.
Wickramasinghe reminded everyone that Lasith Malinga is one of the greatest Sri Lanka has ever produced and added that the fast bowler continues to be one of the better options available at this stage.
“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,” Wickramasinghe added.
“We are going to discuss our plans with him when we meet him in the next couple of days,” Pramodya Wickramasinghe said.
Keen to know how the selection committee is going to get the services of a senior player like me: Lasith Malinga
Speaking about the new development, Lasith Malinga reiterated that he is still hungry to represent his country in the game’s shortest format. He expressed his eagerness to do well while donning the Sri Lankan colors.
“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,” Lasith Malinga told the Morning Newspaper.
Lasith Malinga, who was part of the T20 World Cup-winning squad in 2014, has picked up 107 wickets in 85 T20I matches so far.