Sri Lanka’s premier Twenty20 player and Skipper Lasith Malinga is battling against time to be selected for the ICC T20 World Cup to be held in India later this year.
The 37-year-old ace paceman has not figured in any competitive cricket for the last one and a half years and his chance of playing in the mega event looks bleak especially keeping in line with the new selection policy.
The newly appointed three-member National Selection Committee headed by Pramodya Wickremasinghe has indicated their strict policy in selecting players for the national team.
“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,” Wickremasinghe told the Daily News yesterday.
“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.”
“I later explained to him our selection policies. I told him that to be eligible for selection, players must pass the 2km-run in eight minutes and 30 seconds. Also, the skinfold test should be 85.5,” he explained.
“I also told him that one should also be playing domestic cricket to be eligible for national selection. If Malinga can fulfil all these requirements, we will consider him for selection at that time,” he stressed.
“Another thing that I explained to him is our policy of giving more chances to the younger players.”
“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.”
“We introduced this new selection policy before the Bangladesh tour to focus on the 2023 ICC limited over Cricket World Cup,” he elaborated.
“We all know about our national team rankings and in all three formats, they are far below. So, we want to build up the team step-by-step and to move ahead with this new-look team.”
“Everybody is pleased with our new policy and if anyone obstructs our duties, I will leave immediately,” Wickremasinghe concluded.
