Sri Lanka’s National Selection Committee Chairman Pramodya Wickramasinghe has made it clear that the experienced and World Cup winner Lasith Malinga is in their plans for the forthcoming ICC T20 World Cup 2021 to be held in India in October-November this year.
The 37-year-old pacer, who last played in a T20I series against the West Indies in March 2020, might be at the twilight of his career but is still in Sri Lanka’s plans for the T20 World Cup 2021.
He has already retired from Test and ODI cricket as well as the T20 franchise cricket. The pacer will soon meet the national selectors to discuss the plans for the upcoming T20 fixtures and the T20 World Cup 2021 later this year in India, revealed Wickramasinghe.
Wickramasinghe told the Morning Newspaper: “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. 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.”
He further added, “There are two back-to-back T20 World Cups that are coming up, this year and next year. We are going to discuss our plans with him when we meet him in the next couple of days.”
Meanwhile, Malinga has also reiterated that he hasn’t retired from T20I cricket and he is still hungry to represent his country in the shorter format and he is looking forward to meeting the selectors.
The pacer told the Morning Newspaper: “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.”
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He concluded, “Since last year, nobody had spoken to me to find out about my future plans. As a player, I have always respected the various policies of all selection panels that were there. They have those policies for a purpose. The present committee too could be having their own vision and plan. It is good if we can sit down and try to come to common understanding as to how to move forward.”
