While all teams are getting their squads ready for this year’s ICC Men’s T20 World Cup to be played in India, Sri Lanka is still unclear whether their veteran pacer Lasith Malinga will be playing in the upcoming showpiece event.

It has been over a year since Lasith Malinga played a competitive match and with new selection policies being implemented, it is highly unlikely that Malinga will feature in the national squad for this event.

Pramodya Wickramasinghe, who heads the three-member National Selection Committee made it clear that even though the right-arm quick is Sri Lanka’s best player, he will be judged based on the new guidelines.

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“We know he is the best T20 player and his services are always very important. But all players are equal for us and we apply the same guidelines in selections. I spoke with Lasith Malinga and asked him if he is hoping to play in the T20 World Cup this year. He told me that he hasn’t played competitive cricket in about one and a half years,” Wickramasinghe told Sri Lanka’s Daily News.

According to the new set of rules, the player must pass some fitness tests along with playing domestic cricket. Wickramasinghe has talked to the 37-year-old but he did not give a clear response to whether he will adhere to these guidelines or not.

“I also told him that one should also be playing domestic cricket to be eligible for national selection. If Malinga can fulfill all these requirements, we will consider him for selection at that time. Malinga appreciated our selection policies and asked me to continue with them. However, Malinga did not give a clear response whether he intends playing in the T20 World Cup or not,” he said.

(With Daily News inputs)