SRI LANKA’S MAHELA JAYAWARDENE SUPPORTS LASITH MALINGA’S DECISION TO QUIT TEST CRICKET

Sri Lanka’s middle-order batsman Mehela Jayawardene has come out in support of fellow teammate Lasith Malinga's decision to quit Test cricket.

Earlier this week the pacer Malinga announced that he will not be playing in the longest version of the game.

Jayawardene while talking on the matter, stated that the phenomenal pacer took the right decision and it will help him prolong his cricket career.

“In order to extend his career he has to quit test cricket. In fact his target is the next world cup in 2015 and by bidding adieu to tests he has prolonged his career in shorter version of the game.” Jayawardene said.

According to insiders, Malinga has been carrying a knee injury and in order to save himself from doing more damage to his knee, the slingy pacer decided to bid farewell to five-day cricket.

Jayawardene reiterated that in today’s cricket the pacers have to face the brunt of hectic schedules which shortens their cricket career.

Malinga is currently the number one strike bowler for Sri Lanka and the Lankans will want him to play for as long as he can, for which it is imperative for Malinga to cut down his workload.

Earlier there were rumours in the media that Malinga had taken the decision to retire from Test cricket after he was criticized by certain sections in Sri Lanka Cricket, alleging that the player had opted to play the IPL (Indian Premier League) instead of representing the country.

However, Jayawardene brushed aside such rumours and insisted that the bowler had only taken the decision keeping his future in front of him.

The former vice-captain said that Malinga was prone to injury and during his time of captaincy he always had to calculate the amount of workload on the bowler to make sure that he would remain fit nonetheless, even after such a cautious approach he suffered prolonged injuries in the past.

“He had worked hard and made a fine comeback and is performing brilliantly. He has realised that he can't sustain that huge work load and perhaps has prolonged his career. I am very happy for him," said the Kochi Tuskers Kerala skipper, Jayawardene.

Slinga Malinga as he is knick-named sometimes made his test debut for Sri Lanka in July 1, 2004 against Australia, while in the same month he played his first ever One Day International for his home side against the United Arab Emirates.

So far in 30 Test games he has taken 101 wickets while in one-days he has played 77 games and taken 114 wickets.

Malinga has been equally devastating in the shortest version of the game, the Twenty20, where he has played in 29 games taking 35 wickets.

Considering his current form, he will surely be an asset for Sri Lanka in the next world cup which is scheduled to be played in New Zealand and Australia in 2015. 

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KUMAR SANGAKKARA TERMS THE NOTION OF LASITH MALINGA ABANDONING TEST CRICKET FOR IPL AS “NONSENSE”

Former Sri Lankan skipper Kumar Sangakkara has termed the speculations regarding Malinga's decision against Test cricket for the sake of IPL (Indian Premier League) as utter nonsense.

Sangakkara in fact supported Malinga’s decision, believing that it was a prolonged knee injury that forced Malinga to bid farewell to the longest version of the game.

"I don't think there was ever a question Lasith did not want to play Test cricket. He wanted to play in all three formats of the game. Unfortunately for him, his body was not able to stand the rigours of Test cricket,” he said while defending the ace bowler.

'Slinga Malinga' this week announced his retirement from Test cricket in a bid to prevent his knee problem from further aggravation.

However, his decision was marred by controversy in Sri Lanka as some suggested that he had taken this step after Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) wanted him to leave the ongoing IPL and return home to tend to his knee before the Test series against the English.

With his retirement announced, Malinga now does not have to leave the IPL. However, Sangakkara reiterated that there was absolutely no chance of Malinga ever even thinking of abandoning national duty in favour of the IPL.

According to the left-handed batsman/wicketkeeper, the pacer Malinga had wanted to retire from Test cricket for a long time as he had been advised by his physiotherapists.

"His decision was not a surprise to me. He had spoken about it in January this year and looking at his long-term future for Sri Lanka, I think it's the right decision for him taken at the right time. I think this is the most sensible decision he can take at this time,” Sangakkara revealed while talking about Malinga.  

He also warned that had Malinga been forced to play Test cricket any further, Sri Lanka would have lost the fastest bowler in the history of Sri Lankan cricket to his degenerative knee injury.

He feels that now the pacer will be able to prolong his career which will enable him to represent Sri Lanka at least till the next World Cup which is scheduled to be hosted by New Zealand and Australia in 2015.

Former vice-skipper Mahela Jayawardene also supported Malinga’s decision to quit Test cricket and insisted that there was no controversy behind the pacer’s decision to retire from the five-day game.

Jayawardene also believed that retirement from test cricket will prolong Malinga’s cricket career in the shorter versions of the game.

The 27-year old Malinga is currently playing for Mumbai Indians in the ongoing season of the IPL.

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Sri Lanka changes decision to call back players from IPL

After negotiations with India’s cricket board, Sri Lanka has changed their decision of calling back their cricketers earlier from the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL).
Earlier this month, Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) had asked their players to return back home by May 5, 2011.
On the other hand, the vice-president of Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and franchises revealed that SLC had promised to allow their players to stay in the IPL till May 21, 2011.
BCCI sent a request to SLC for extending the stay of their players in India for IPL, but they did not receive any positive response.
SLC secretary, Nishantha Ranatunga, said that after discussions with the Board of Control for Cricket in India, both the bodies have reached a consensus that Sri Lankan cricketing authorities would not call back their players if the cricketers manage to participate in the second warm-up match on May 19, because that preparation will be enough for the tour of England.
The tour includes three Tests, one Twenty20 and five One-Day Internationals (ODIs). The first match of the tour will be played on May 14, while the first Test match is scheduled to be started on May 26.
Sri Lanka’s sports Minister, Mahindananda Aluthgamage, earlier had said that in the future, players will only be allowed to play foreign leagues such as IPL, if it would not affect the national team.
The star players playing in the IPL are, Kumar Sangakkara, Lasith Malinga, Mahela Jayawardene, and, Tillakratne Dilshan.
Sangakkara has recently stepped down from the captaincy of Sri Lanka, following their exit in the final of the International Cricket Council (ICC) World Cup 2011, at the hands of India.
Following Sangakkara’s decision, Jayawardene and four selectors including Aravinda de Silva also stood down from their posts. Dilshan is now appointed, as a new captain, who will lead his team in the upcoming series.
Pacer, Malinga, who has given a significant performance in the recently concluded mega-event, has refused to play in the three-match series, mentioning an injury.
However, his excuse raised controversies and the cricket officials of his country are expected to call him back for a rehabilitation programme.

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SRI LANKA CRICKET’S DECISION OF CALLING THEIR PLAYERS BACK FROM IPL

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) condemned Sri Lanka Cricket’s (SLC) decision of calling back their players early from the Indian Premier League and revealed that the board is in negotiations with the SLC to fix the issue.

BCCI vice-president Rajiv Shukla also unveiled that the Sri Lankans were supposed to stay in India till the 21^stof May as it was mutually decided by the boards of both the countries and franchises are also bearing out the same agreement. He added that the Sri Lankan board now wanted the early return of their players, which is not fair.

"Nothing has been decided as yet. The BCCI president is in touch with the Sri Lankan board and some kind of a dialogue is going on between the two boards," he said.

The tensions between the boards of both the countries started when Sri Lankan government forced SLC to ask all their players playing in the IPL to return home by the 5^th of May in a bid to prepare for the England tour which starts with a Test Match on the 26^th of May. The tour includes three Tests, one Twent20 and five One-Day internationals.

BCCI sent a request to the Sri Lankan board asking that the star players should be allowed to play in the Twenty20 format tournament at least till the mid of May. However, SLC did not pay any heed to their request and simply stayed firm on their demand.

The main Sri Lankan players which are currently playing in the IPL include Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene, Lasith Malinga and the newly appointed Sri Lankan captain, Tillakaratne Dilshan.

Jayawardene is leading the new team Kochi Tuskers Kerala as their skipper while Sangakkara, who stepped down as the Sri Lankan captain following their defeat in the World Cup 2011 final, is leading the Deccan Chargers.

Media reports revealed that BCCI may strike back by asking franchises to seize the players’ salaries and may also refuse to pay SLC its share of 10 percent from the players’ incomes.

Shukla however, denied the reports saying that BCCI does not have any such intentions and is trying to sort out the issue through dialogue.

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EARLY EXIT FROM IPL MAY COST SRI LANKA PLAYERS THEIR SALARIES

Sources from Board of Control for Cricket in India hinted on Thursday that the Board may block the IPL salaries of Sri Lanka players if they leave the money-spinning T20 league in the midst of the tournament to meet their international commitments.

The source said that as per understanding between the India and Sri Lanka cricket boards, the players cannot leave their respective franchises in the midst of the tournament barring injuries. He further added that if SLC and its players did not honour their commitments, then the BCCI might not pay them their IPL salaries.

“As per the understanding between BCCI and SLC, Lankan players were to stay on till May 22. It was on the basis of that the teams had bought the Lankan players,” told a BCCI source to a leading India sports website.

“According to IPL rules, only those cricketers who are available for the whole season without injury are supposed to be paid the entire salary. We are telling the Lankan board that its cricketers' salaries would be blocked for now if they leave without honouring their commitments,” he added further. 

The sports ministry of Sri Lanka has ordered its players to come back home by May 5, 2011 to join the national team for the training camp for their tour of England starting from May 10. The Sri Lankan Lions have welcomed the Board’s decision and are willing to leave the lucrative Indian Premier League in the midst of the tournament.

Currently eleven Sri Lanka players, including Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene and Lasith Malinga, are playing for different IPL franchises. The BCCI had made an informal request to the Sri Lanka government as well as the cricket board but it is learnt that the islanders have decided to ignore the request and are stern to call back the players.

However, the Board officials refused to confirm any such news saying that they are in discussions with the Sri Lanka Cricket and it would be a bit early to comment.

The BCCI official asked the reporters to wait and watch over the developments however, he did agree that there was no signal that the SLC may change its stance.

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PCB plans to launch Twenty20 league on the format of IPL

PCB plans to launch Twenty20 league on the format of IPL

Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) plans to launch an event modelled after the Indian Premier League (IPL).

The board had taken the decision two years ago but following the attack on the Sri Lankan team in Lahore in 2009 failed to implement it. After the success of the Indian Premier League, Sri Lankan Cricket Board (SLC) and Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) also started their own version of Twenty20 Leagues.

IPL, which started in year 2008, remains the most popular. Players from all over the world are selected in the League but India has ignored Pakistani players since 2009 edition citing political tensions.

In the opening season of IPL in 2008, 11 Pakistani cricketers were drafted in the League and Shahid Afridi was the costliest player who was signed on for $675,000 by the Hyderabad team.

Subsequent to International Cricket Council (ICC) World Cup 2011 semi-final between India and Pakistan at Mohali, which was attended by Prime Ministers of both the countries, it was expected that Pakistani cricketers would be given opportunities in the IPL; but once again they have been sidelined.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) arranged 2009 edition of the tournament in South Africa which proved to be a good decision as the spectators in that country thronged to it.

PCB is also considering the idea of arranging league matches overseas possibly in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) or in Malaysia.

Indian and Pakistan cricket boards are in negotiations to arrange the three-match One-Day series between India and Pakistan, in a bid to improve ties. ICC in its Future Tour Programme has included Pakistan team’s tour to India next year.

Pakistani cricket team will now face West Indies on April 21.

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