Sri Lanka’s Lasith Malinga calls it quits from Test cricket – Cricket News
Lasith Malinga, the Sri Lanker pacer has decided to call it quits from Test cricket in a bid to keep his concentration focused on the One Day Internationals, T20 and the Indian Premier League matches.
Announcing his retirement from the Test cricket, the Lankan speedster, whose devastating Yorkers have always brought nightmares to the batsmen around the world, held his long standing degenerative knee injury responsible for his decision.
Accused by the http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Sri-Lanka-c758 Cricket for preferring the cash rich IPL over national duties, the 27-year-old player said that he will continue playing the ODIs and T20 matches for his country.
The unexpected announcement aired by Malinga, the fastest pacer the Sri Lankan cricket team has produced so far, is being regarded as an attempt to put an end to the dispute with his cricket board which required him to drop the IPL tournament to come back
for the rehabilitation programme.
Sharing his decision with the world’s media, the pacer said in a statement, “Although I am sufficiently fit to play both ODI and T20 cricket, I have a long-standing degenerative condition in my right knee that needs to be carefully managed.”
The right-handed pacer further said that the conditions he had been suffering from were attributed to the chronic knee injury he had developed in February 2008 while playing against Australia. The injury caused him to stay away from ODI cricket for 16 consecutive
months.
Malinga, by announcing his retirement just ahead of the tour to http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Mumbai-c820 Indians bowling squad for taking highest wickets for his team in the IPL extravaganza.
The pacer’s decision to pull out of the traditional format of cricket has culminated in irking the officials at Sri Lanka Cricket, who have declared the player’s decision “awkward” that he was fit enough to continue with his IPL matches but had apprehensions
to join the national team for the tour.
In an attempt to mitigate the confusions and to clarify the situation, Malinga said, “The injury was a career-threatening injury and my orthopedic surgeon was of the opinion that given his experience with other professional athletes in http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Australia-c746 I was very
fortunate to play again.”
He said that after the operation and on joining the national team again, the team’s physiotherapist had suggested him to avoid bowling or fielding for prolonged sessions as it will aggravate his condition. He said that though he had tried his best to join
the Test cricket with equal zeal after the hiatus of three years, but the decision had only culminated in leaving him unfit to bear severe knee pains for two months.
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