Malinga grateful to IPL for his cricket comeback

The charismatic Sri Lankan fast bowler, Lasith Malinga, felt disappointed by his country’ s board when he was not looked after well and did not get treatment after his knee injury, which could have finished his career.

Malinga claims that it was only because of the Indian Premier League (IPL) he was able to come back to the cricket fields again.

He sustained an injury in early 2008, which kept him out of the game, and, he was unable to play for Sri Lanka until August, 2009 and he pretended that could have been the end of his career.

He appeared in the IPL in 2009, got back his confidence by gaining rhythm and was able to grab 18 wickets representing Mumbai Indians. His performance brought him back in the limelight and he was selected to represent his country again.

"Because of the IPL I got a chance to come back to the national team", he said at a media conference in Colombo. "After the injury nobody looked after me and I was not offered a contract. The 2008 interim committee did not care for my well-being. But thanks to the IPL I didn't lose anything but I improved my cricket a lot. I'm saddened the way I was treated but not disappointed".

Malinga has announced his retirement from Test cricket and will be concentrating on the shorter versions of the game for IPL and his country. Earlier, Sri Lanka’s cricket board had asked all their players participating in the IPL to report back in preparation with the forthcoming tour of England.

Quite a few players left back as Malinga continued playing in IPL and informed the Board that he will be available for One Day Internationals (ODI) and T20 matches.

He reiterated that he was fit enough to play Test cricket but it will take a long time to recover if he suffers an injury again, while it is easy to recover if he gets an injury in an ODI or T20 match.

"My doctors in Australia had said that mine was a rare type of injury and that I would not be able to play again. But thanks to President Mahinda Rajapaksa's private physician, Dr Eliyantha White, who treated me, I was able to play for the national team again.

Malinga responded to undue criticism going on in the news that he was declining to play for Sri Lanka, as there was more money involved in IPL. He stressed that the retirement from Test has nothing to do with money, as he wants to concentrate on shorter phases of cricket and don’t want to grab an injury again, which can put him away from the game forever.

He has taken 101 wickets in Test cricket, 127 in ODIs and 35 in T20 cricket, while representing his country and he is only the third player to pocket 100 wickets for Sri Lanka in Test cricket after Muttiah Muralitharan (800) wickets and Chaminda Vaas, who has grabbed 355 wickets.

Malinga commented that it was a matter of great honour to play for his country and he anticipates a dedicated performance in the 2012 T20 World Cup and the ICC World Cup 2015.

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Kamran Akmal wishes to join the Pakistan team as a specialist batsman

Kamran Akmal, Pakistan’s wicket-keeper batsman, who has been under much criticism for displaying a dismal performance in the ICC World Cup 2011, has expressed his resolve to make a come-back to the national team, albeit this time in capacity of a specialist batsman.
The wicket-keeper had been ignored for the One Day International series against the West Indies and had been replaced by the emerging player Mohammad Salman for the tour.
Kamran has been into troubled water since the Sydney Test played in January 2010. The selectors have been overlooking him for Test and ODI matches but he has always managed to make a come-back to the national squad.
Speaking in context of his recent omission from the team and expressing his desire to join the team again, even in a different role, he said, “If Pakistan can find a better wicketkeeper than me then I will try to make a comeback as a specialist batsman because batting is something I enjoy a lot and I can bat at any position.”
Having had played 53 Test and 137 ODI matches, Kamran has managed to put six Test and five ODI centuries on the board so far. For seeing an altogether different role for himself in the team, the right-handed batsman said that he was striving to polish his batting skills further as he was desperate to join the national team again. He was of the view that he wanted to serve his country, and was ready to play whatever role the selectors may see for him in the side.
After being constantly overlooked for the encounters against South Africa and New Zealand, Kamran was called to join the team for the World Cup after he got clearance from the integrity committee of the Pakistan Cricket Board. After being neglected for the ODI series against West Indies, there is news that he may not be able to make an appearance into the Test squad either.
Commenting upon the news and the attitude he was being meted out by the selection committee, the wicket-keeper said, “It is true I have had some bad matches in recent months but my performances should be viewed on overall basis. Overall my performance as a wicket-keeper has been fine and I’ve one of the highest dismissals among all the wicket-keepers who have played for Pakistan.”
He said that so far he was the only Pakistani wicket-keeper who has had over 400 dismissals in all formats of cricket. However, he also admitted that his performance against New Zealand in the World Cup Group match was unsatisfactory and the two crucial catches that he dropped haunted him even now.
Kamran also lamented the fact that people were not allowing him to forget the incident and to move on. Referring to that very day of his career, he said that it seemed cursed and people were just criticising him for not putting up against the Kiwis. The people were not acknowledging the performance he displayed against the Australian cricket team.
Kamran also added that as there are not many domestic tournaments being played in the country, he will continue playing club cricket and will look forward to feature in the Sri Lanka T20 League this year.

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FAF DU PLESSIS AND JAMES FRANKLIN

Faf du Plessis and James Franklin are two dynamic all rounders that are making their mark in the current Indian Premier League tournament. Both players have an intense competitive spirit and tremendous skills to single-handedly guide their respective teams to victory. As the event builds momentum, the players will be looking to put in a good performance with both the bat and the ball.

High-lights of the two young all rounders, Faf du Plessis of Chennai Super Kings and James Franklin who is representing Mumbai Indians are as follows:

Faf du Plessis was born on July 13, 1984 at Pretoria. He is a right-hand batsman and right-arm leg break bowler.

He has played for South Africa, Titans, Lancashire, South Africa Under-19, Northerns and Chennai Super Kings.

Faf du Plessis is A Young and energetic batsman who has the ability to command the innings in the middle-order. He started performing well at the school level, groomed himself on the domestic level and matured his cricket representing Lancashire County. He gave a rousing performance for his county while batting, bowling and fielding which caught the eyes of the national selectors.

He was included in the South African Under-19 side and had successful trips with them. Du Plessis grabbed the top position in the MTN40 competition by scoring 567 runs in the ten matches he played, which paved the way for his selection in the National side against India just before the ICC World Cup 2011. He made an impression in his inaugural One Day International by scoring 60 runs off 78 balls at Cape Town on January 18, 2011. He is a useful leg break bowler who can give positive results once inducted into the attack.

Du Plessis made his debut in T20 cricket appearing for the Titans against the Eagles on February 25, 2007 at the Centurian, where his team won by four wickets as he took a wicket and scored 33 runs.

He has played 43 T20 matches, scored 692 runs at an average of 20.35 runs, the best of unbeaten 78 runs with three fifties. He has taken 34 wickets at an average of 18.41 runs per wicket with the best of three for 18 runs.

Du Plessis will be a player to watch during the exciting tournament.

James Franklin was born on November 7, 1980 at Wellington, New Zealand. He is a left-hand batsman and left-arm medium fast bowler.

He has played for New Zealand, Wellington, Gloucestershire, Glamorgan and Mumbai Indians.

Franklin is a competent bowler who has the quality for swinging the ball both ways and his reverse swings are lethal for the batsman facing them. He appeared for Lancashire in county cricket for quite a while before he was called to represent his country in the absence of injured Shane Bond. Franklin picked up six wickets in the Test against England at Trent Bridge and gave a brilliant performance in the ODI series and earned the ‘Man of the Match’ award at Chester-le-Street on June 29, 2004 for claiming five wickets for 42 runs in 10 overs.

He has developed himself as a solid batsman who has all the strokes and has played quite a few match-winning innings for the teams that he has played for.

Franklin made his debut in T20 cricket appearing for Gloucestershire against Glamorgan on July 14, 2004.

He has played 67 matches, scored 1430 runs at an average of 31.08 runs with the best of 90 runs including six fifties. He has pocketed 38 wickets at an average of 37.47 runs per wicket with the best of three for 23 runs.

Franklin has been a consistent performer for the Mumbai Indians and they will anticipate a match winning contribution from him both with the bat and ball throughout the IPL.

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WIPA condemns dropping experienced trio for Pakistan serie

The dismissal of West Indies former skippers Chris Gayle, Ramnaresh Sarwan and Shivnarine Chanderpaul has been condemned by the West Indies Players Association (WIPA).
The three players were not selected for the first T20 International against Pakistan as well as the first two One Day Internationals (ODI) against the Men in Green.
West Indies Cricket Board (WICB), Chief Executive Officer, Ernest Hilaire said that they selectors had not told them why they had dropped the trio.
Ottis Gibson, coach of the West Indies side, criticised the performance of the trio at the recently concluded ICC World Cup 2011. The new inductions include Anthony Martins, Krishmar Santokie, Danza Hyatt, Ashley Nurse and Christopher Barnwell.
West Indies Players Association says that they want to see young players in the side but this should not hamper the overall performance of the side. WIPA stated, “While WIPA wants to see that young players with potential are incorporated into the team and blooded, this should not be at the expense of the overall team performance or of the obligation owed to the players to deal with them fairly and justly.”
The statement by WIPA added, “While WIPA is clear that teams should be picked on performance, potential, playing conditions and preparedness, it is concerned that there may be an appearance that there were other unknown factors being taken into account.”
The association also criticised the replacement of the Windies captain, Chris Gayle, by Darren Sammy, as the WICB Chief had initially stated in 2009 that Gayle’s leadership from the team should be dissolved as it was not at all guaranteed.
However, this made Gayle infuriated and he refused to accept the year-long contract issued by WICB, and consequently Sammy was given the captaincy of the Windies cricket team.
West Indies will host Pakistan for a T20, 5 ODIs and 2 Test matches. The tour begins with the only T20 in the Beausejour Stadium in St. Lucia on Thursday, 21 April. The 5-match ODI series will begin on 23 April while the first Test match would be held from 12 May - 16 May at the Providence Stadium in Guyana.

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