Malinga's IPL return doubtful after Sri Lankan Board's objection

04/12/2016

After being ruled out of the first half of the IPL, Lasith Malinga may not return even for the second after the Sri Lankan Board expressed its objections today. The SLC chief said that Malinga cannot go without their permission and will be sidelined if he goes before he can play for Lanka.

Malinga, who is Sri Lanka's T20 captain, had missed the T20 World Cup in India last month due to an injury. The pacer had traveled with the squad for the World Cup, but decided to give it a miss after failing to recover in time. Angelo Mathews took over as the captain, but the defending champions struggled through the cup without their talismanic captain and crashed out in the league stages.

Lasith Malinga's hopes of an early return to IPL also failed to materialize after his recovery did not go as planned. 'Slinga' Malinga plays for the Mumbai Indians in the IPL and is the all-time highest wicket-taker in the league.

However, the Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) appears to have been put off by the bowler's attitude of choosing his tournaments. PTI reported SLC chief Tilanga Sumathipala today as saying, “He can’t go without our permission. If he defies us and go, he can only return after sitting on the bench.”

The Board has announced that Malinga will have to undergo a fitness test before they can give him a go-ahead, reported PTI.

Malinga has had previous run-ins as well with the Board starting from the Asia Cup in February.