Lasith Malinga will now be available for Mumbai Indians through the entirety of April, with Sri Lanka Cricket granting the paceman permission to skip the domestic Super Provincial One-Day Tournament, which he was earlier expected to take part in. However, Malinga is keen to participate in the domestic tournament, because, as Sri Lanka's limited-overs captain, he wants to have a close look at some of the players that are likely to feature in the World Cup squad.
In a statement on Tuesday, SLC said that the decision to
release Malinga was because "he would get an opportunity to play with much
stronger opposition in the IPL tournament, which consist of international
players."
Malinga told ESPNcricinfo that he would consult the Mumbai
Indians management on whether he would be allowed to participate in the
domestic one-day tournament, which is likely to be played between April 4 to
11, although the SLC has not yet released the final schedule for the
tournament.
"As the
captain of the Sri Lanka ODI team, I also think it is important to play the
provincial tournament, because I will also be able to see our players in action
first hand"
LASITH
MALINGA
"I'm very thankful to the board for having released me
for the full IPL," Malinga said. "But as the captain of the Sri Lanka
ODI team, I also think it is important to play the provincial tournament,
because I will also be able to see our players in action first hand. I will go
to Mumbai and I'll talk to the management there about getting released to play
the provincial tournament."
Malinga will now join the Mumbai team, and is likely to be
available for selection for their next match, away against Royal Challengers
Bangalore, on Thursday. In case Malinga does return to Sri Lanka to play in the
domestic one-dayers, he might leave after the April 3 match against Chennai
Super Kings and miss about three matches in case his team - Galle - reach the
final.
Incidentally, it was only last week the SLC had a very
different view on Malinga's participation in the IPL. Last Friday, the SLC had
stipulated that Malinga must play in the weeklong provincial one-day tournament
in Sri Lanka in order to be considered for selection in the World Cup squad.
But the board climbed down from that position over the weekend, until the final
decision to allow Malinga to skip the provincial tournament in its entirety.
The SLC decision comes on the back of intervention from
BCCI, which wanted to ensure maximum availability of prominent overseas players
in the IPL at least in the first half. Before the player auction in December,
all the international boards had already notified the BCCI about the cut-off
dates for their players to be released from the IPL. Barring New Zealand and
West Indies, players from rest of the World Cup-participating countries would
be leaving the IPL early to take part in preparatory camps or ODI series in the
lead-up to the World Cup.
Although there is some dissatisfaction on the Malinga issue
within the board (at least one official believes Malinga used his contacts in
India to get the BCCI to campaign for his release from the domestic tournament
in Sri Lanka), the board's decision is a reflection of the power the BCCI
wields. Not only is SLC heavily reliant on India tours for broadcast income,
the board is also hoping for the BCCI's support with the launch of the Lankan
Premier League, which is tentatively scheduled for September.
Even if Malinga doesn't play in the domestic tournament, he
may yet be required to cut his IPL stint short in May, when Sri Lanka's World
Cup squad assembles for a pre-tournament camp. Sri Lanka are expected to
undertake several weeks of acclimatisation and training in Scotland, ahead of
the World Cup in England and Wales.
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