It is widely accepted that Lasith Malinga has not had the best of times in the recent past. Form has eluded his injury ravaged body and his once unplayable, toe crushing yorkers have become rare and unthreatening.
The spearhead of the Sri Lankan bowling attack has been seemingly blunted by age and the restrictions it brings with it.
Malinga’s physical decline is also reflected in the decline of his reputation. He has never possessed the kind of eloquence that Kumar Sangakkara wields with such ease or the diplomatic self -assurance of Mahela Jayawardene. Atleast, that is not the picture that has been painted by the Sri Lankan media. He is the renegade mercenary, to whom public image has never been a priority, neither has modesty been his strongest suit – his words never won him hearts.
All this seemed irrelevant until he was thrust into captaincy in last year’s T20 World Cup, with then Captain Dinesh Chandimal dropping himself on the back of some woeful performances. Malinga, however, did not seem to have much to do with many on field decisions as Sri Lanka’s performances in the tournament bore the hallmarks of Jayawardene’s genius. Perhaps even Malinga would not dispute the fact that he was Captain by name only. And so, Malinga’s first foray into leadership at the international level was a big success. His performance in the big final was impeccable and all was well with him giving over the reigns to Sangakkara and Jayawardene on the field.
Sadly, it has all been downhill from there, in terms of his bowling. In the recently concluded ODI and T20 series, Malinga bore the brunt of the criticism levelled at the team, with many fans and past cricketers calling for his head. Malinga was man enough to admit that his performance had been below par in the two series and that he intends to work hard to make his way back to his former self.
Criticism of Malinga intensified when former selector and national team captain Sanath Jayasuriya, appearing on a Pakistani cricket show, seemed to convey that Malinga had a personal vendetta against Dinesh Chandimal. He described the recent selectors’ decision to leave Dinesh Chandimal and Lahiru Thirimanne out of the T20 squad that included 5 uncapped players as “very strange”. Chandimal and Thirimanne are seen by many as the future of Sri Lankan batting. Jayasuriya went on to say that “everyone is talking about why Chandimal and Thirimanne are not there… I know Lasith wants to keep Chandimal out, he wants to balance the team with Kusal keeping wickets.”
Jayasuriya’s views on the matter seemed to echo the thoughts of many Sri Lankan cricket fans as both Chandimal and Thirimanne had performed well in the recently concluded ODI series. On the outset it seemed fair to question the motivations of the team management that had dropped two seasoned youngsters and replaced them with players that had no international experience. Indeed it did seem like somebody’s personal agenda was being carried out.
Jayasuriya’s claims were further fuelled by former selector and national player Pramodya Wickramasinghe’s opinion that Malinga has always had it in for Chandimal. Speaking at a radio programme ‘Singha Kelibima’, Wickramasinghe is quoted as saying “Everyone knows that Malinga had vowed to send Chandimal away. Malinga already wanted Chandimal out of the team when going for the last World Cup (T20). I was there as a selector and I informed Sanath (Jayasuriya) about the situation”
With fans quick to criticize Malinga’s recent performances as a bowler (justifiably), many media outlets have been quick to publish Jayasuriya’s and Wickramasinghe’s comments in a
bid to create waves and perhaps even with the sole motivation of generating views. It does not help Malinga’s cause that Chandimal, who is by all accounts the victim of Malinga’s personal agenda, is seen as a selfless hero – as a result of his decision to drop himself in the WT20 last year. Perhaps the main concern of the Sri Lankan cricket fan is that players are not picked on merit but through the favour of the captain.
Malinga addressed these issues, without alluding to Jayasuriya’s or Wickramasinghe’s comments directly, during the press briefing before the T20 series against Pakistan – expressing that since there are no domestic T20 tournaments scheduled before the WT20 2016, now is a good time to see the quality of players we have in the domestic arena. “As captain I have the opportunity of participating in selection meetings. People are free to express their opinions on the results of those meetings. We know we have two players who have played international T20’s since 2010, who are not in the squad. We are aware of what they are capable of, so there is no need to assess them again. What we want is to have a look at those who have performed well in domestic competitions and see if they are fit for the international arena.” Malinga said.
Sri Lankan fans would agree with me when I say that our team lacks bench strength – it is the same group of players who make runs and take wickets in the domestic arena, only to fall short in the international circuit time and again. So is it such a bad thing that the selectors, backed by Malinga, chose to include 5 young, uncapped players into the squad in order to assess them? In hindsight it certainly looks like a good decision, since all five new guys as well as the recalled Chamara Kapugedara performed exceptionally well in the two T20’s and healthy competition for spots on the team could only lead to better performances.
Perhaps the problem here is the thought that Thirimanne and Chandimal have been discarded and therefore will have to work their way back into the team. Chief selector Kapila Wijegunawardene has made it explicitly clear that Chandimal and Thirimanne are very much a part of the team’s future plans in all three formats of the game, saying “We’re trying to manage all their workloads because we have a very busy calendar till July next year.”
In light of this, can we say that it is right for two former selectors to reveal selection issues that were discussed in the privacy of a board room? In questioning Malinga’s integrity in a public forum, are they not trampling on their own? The allegations that they have levelled against the selection committee and Malinga may prove to be true or they may not. Isn’t the most important thing helping the team move forward instead of causing friction within it?
Let us not forget that we were calling for Chandimal to be dropped just last year, while questioning the sSelection committee’s decision to appoint him as captain of the WT20 squad. So if Malinga indeed wanted him out then – which he did, according to Jayasuriya and Wickramasinghe, wouldn’t it be justifiable? Was the selection committee’s decision to leave out Chandimal and Thirimanne in order that they may prepare for the test series against India the right call? Or was it a personal vendetta? There are many questions to be answered, but only time will tell.
