Sri Lanka mulls life after Malinga
Collected
|| Desk Report ||
The Sri Lankan legend Lasith Malinga is set to retire from international cricket after playing the first game of the three-match ODI series against Bangladesh. In his absence, Sri Lanka is pondering about their future and searching for youngsters who can fill the immense void left by Malinga.
"We know we need to find a wicket taking bowler because Lasith Malinga is not available after this series. So we need to find the bowlers who can take wickets in the middle part and the early overs," said Karunaratne on Monday.
Sri Lanka is looking to groom youngsters who can serve Sri Lanka in the next World Cup. Karunaratne believes they have time on their side to groom youngsters to serve them in the World Cup in India.
"I need some good youngsters, we need to groom some youngsters for the next World Cup. We have plenty of time but we need to groom one by one. And those are the key areas I’m looking forward to," added Karunaratne.
Malinga's impact in the Sri Lanka cricket is vast. At the age of 35, Malinga was still the best bowler of Sri Lanka in the World Cup. He has taken 13 wickets from seven matches in the recently concluded World Cup. Malinga is the third-highest wicket-taker of Sri Lanka after Muttiah Muralidharan and Chaminda Vass.
Malinga has taken 335 wickets in 225 matches for Sri Lanka. His ability to pick up wickets at the right time and executing inch-perfect yorker is second to none. But this maestro will play his last match in the first match of the three-match ODI series. Karunaratne revealed that on Monday.
"He is going to play the first match. After that he is retiring. That’s what he said to me. I don’t know what he said for the selectors but for me he said he is playing only one match," Karunaratne concluded.
