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Sri Lanka board to ask Malinga to return from IPL

Lasith Malinga has continued to play in the IPL despite telling Sri Lanka Cricket he is not fit for the Tests in England

Sri Lanka Cricket will ask fast bowler Lasith Malinga to return from the IPL and undergo a rehabilitation programme after he made himself unavailable for the upcoming Test series in England. Malinga had stated that he is suffering from an injury, but continues to play for Mumbai Indians in the Twenty20 tournament. Malinga did not figure in the Sri Lanka squad of 16 players named for the three-Test series against England starting on May 26 in Cardiff.

"It looks a bit awkward when someone says he is injured and continues to play cricket," Sri Lanka's new chairman of selectors Duleep Mendis said. "That is the reason why we have decided to write to Malinga and ask him to return home and undergo a rehabilitation programme. Malinga has specifically mentioned in a letter that he is not available for Test matches right now because he has a nagging knee problem.

"When the player says that he is injured and he has to undergo a rehab programme what we can do is to tell him to undergo it immediately without continuing to play cricket in the IPL, and then get ready for cricket in Sri Lanka if he is interested in playing for his country."

Mendis said they would have to wait and see what Malinga's response was before deciding on the next course of action.

Nishantha Ranatunga, the SLC secretary, also expressed concerns over Malinga's absence from the Test team. "We are very much concerned about Malinga because he is an important product in the team," Ranatunga said. "He should be up and running to play in all three formats of the game. In that sense getting him fit and ready to play at full strength is very important."

Malinga has shown a reluctance to play Test cricket since he sustained a long-term knee injury more than two years ago. Since December 2007, he has played only two Tests - against India at home last year - and has confined himself to playing in limited overs and Twenty20 cricket, where he has been very successful. He has, however, not officially stated that he is unavailable to play Test cricket for Sri Lanka.

Lasith Malinga gives up Test cricket

No more whites for Lasith Malinga

the Sri Lankan fast bowler, has given up Test cricket because of a "long-standing degenerative condition in the right knee". He intends to continue playing the shorter formats, though, and hopes to play in the 2012 World Twenty20 and the 2015 World Cup.

Malinga, 27, made himself unavailable for the upcoming Test tour of England citing his fitness problems, but has been playing for Mumbai Indians in the IPL. Sri Lanka Cricket asked him to return home and undergo a rehabilitation programme, but Malinga has now clarified that his condition stops him from playing only the longest format.

"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," Malinga's statement read. "The condition relates directly to the chronic knee injury I sustained playing for Sri Lanka in Australia back in February 2008, an injury that prevented me from playing ODI cricket for 16 months.

"The injury was a career-threatening injury and my orthopaedic surgeon was of the opinion that given his experience with other professional athletes in Australia I was very fortunate to play again. I have since been advised by the national team physiotherapist and my orthopaedic consultant that my condition will deteriorate when fielding or bowling for prolonged periods.

"I did try to return to Test cricket after a three-year absence last year [against India] following requests from the team management and the selectors, but it left me unfit nursing severe knee pain for two months.

"I have realised that the heavy workload of Test cricket, which requires a fast bowler to be able to bowl more than 15 overs, sometimes on consecutive days, could lead to permanent injury. I have carefully considered my options and have decided that not playing Test cricket will help me achieve my goal of representing Sri Lanka in the 2012 World Twenty20 and the 2015 World Cup."

Malinga said he was available for all limited-overs internationals, and planned to travel to Sri Lanka soon to discuss his plans with the selectors.

Since his debut in July 2004, Malinga has played only 30 Tests and 84 ODIs. His slingshot round-arm action and focus on pace put a lot of strain on his body, and he was forced to miss several games. His career seemed to have stalled after the Galle Test against England in December 2007, but he returned for the series against India mid-2010. It was, however, a false dawn on his stop-start Test career.

Malinga rules out BBL participation

National commitments have taken precedence for Lasith Malinga

Sri Lanka fast bowler Lasith Malinga has turned down offers to play Twenty20 cricket in South Africa and Australia - including the Big Bash League - in order to focus on his upcoming national limited-overs assignments.

"It would have been great fun to play in the new Big Bash," Malinga said, "but representing Sri Lanka remains my priority in the year ahead and I want to make sure I am as fit as possible." Malinga recently retired from Test cricket because of a long-standing knee problem. Four Australian and two South African franchises had reportedly expressed interest in signing on Malinga, who plays for Mumbai Indians in the IPL.

Australia tour Sri Lanka in August-September this year, where they will play two T20s and five ODIs ahead of the Test series. Sri Lanka then travel to South Africa where they play five ODIs in January next year before heading to Australia for the Commonwealth Bank series. The BBL is scheduled to begin in the middle of December.

"Lasith's had several expressions of interest to play T20 cricket for franchises in Australia and South Africa," Charlie Austin, Malinga's manager said, "but he wants to manage his workload carefully ahead of a busy winter for Sri Lanka including tours to South Africa and Australia.

"If he played in Australia he would be playing non-stop from mid-December to mid-March and that would be a risk given his degenerative knee condition.

Sri Lanka are currently touring England, where, after the completion of the ongoing Test series, they are scheduled to play five ODIs and one Twenty20 game. They then head to Scotland to play two ODIs againsts the hosts and Ireland