World Cup winning Sri Lanka captain Arjuna Ranatunga has said that he would have dealt with Lasith Malinga firmly. after the fast bowler’s dramatic exit from Test cricket in 2011.
Ahead of Sri Lanka’s tough tour of England in 2011, Malinga announced his retirement from Test cricket at a media briefing arranged by his controversial agent, another man who Ranatunga has blamed regularly for mismanaging cricket in the county.
“If I was in the cricket board when Malinga pulled out of Tests, he never would have played ever again,” Ranatunga, who was a guest speaker during the India Today conclave in New Delhi, said.
In 2011, Malinga refused a call by national selectors to come home early to prepare for the tour of England. Instead, he came down to Colombo to announce his retirement from Test cricket and returned back to India to continue to play for Mumbai Indians. Since then, questions regarding Malinga’s commitment to Sri Lanka cricket have been frequently asked.
Malinga’ retirement announcement also came at a crucial phase, as Sri Lanka were entering the post Muttiah Muralitharan era. Sri Lanka has only won four of the 22 Tests they have played, since Muralitharan retired and have missed Malinga’s pace badly.
Malinga has argued that he has a troublesome knee, which is prone to injuries and he can’t stand the rigours of Test cricket, but there have been counter arguments as well.
Malinga has been challenged to undergo independent tests to prove that he can stand the demands of Test cricket. Others have pointed out that over the years, fast bowlers have played with pain and pain killer injections and that Malinga should not be the exception. Malinga was only 27 when he retired.
Although he has refused to play Test cricket, Malinga has attracted big money from domestic T-20 competitions in India, Bangladesh and Australia, where he plays non-stop T-20 cricket. It was so strange, to see last year during Sri Lanka’s tour of Australia, the fast bowlers struggling and Sri Lanka’s best bowler being involved in domestic cricket in Australia.
Ex-cricketers have argued that SLC’s lack of firmness with Malinga sets a bad precedence for others as well.
Ranatunga wasn’t the only former star who has criticized Malinga’s retirement from Tests. Aravinda de Silva also went on record in 2011, saying he wouln’t allowed Malinga to retire had he been the Chairman of Selectors, a job he left just before the England tour.
Sri Lanka’s current selectors also attracted criticism for appointing Malinga as the country’s T-20 vice captain as he had let Sri Lankan cricket down badly, when his services were needed most.
Article courtesy The Island
