Fast bowler Lasith Malinga has become such a precious commodity that Sri Lanka is not risking playing him in the Test matches against the West Indies.
The spearhead of the Sri Lankan bowling attack in the one-day format after spin legend Muthiah Muralitharan, Malinga was left out of the first Test against West Indies starting at the Galle International Stadium tomorrow (Monday). There is a likelihood that he may not play in the rest of the series at all because Sri Lanka intends keeping him injury free, fit and fresh to lead them in their 2011 Cricket World Cup campaign starting in February next year.
“With the injury he has, it could easily come back. It’s a very rare injury as well on the knee and playing a lot of cricket is not going to be beneficial for him or for the team,” Mahela Jayawardene told The Nation.
“I don’t think we’ll risk playing him in Test cricket just before the World Cup. We have to manage him properly. He is gradually building up nicely strengthening and all that and getting into a good groove. Playing three Test matches against West Indies would definitely hamper him. The selectors and everyone think to give him a break in this series and probably play him in a few of the one-dayers against West Indies,” said Jayawardene who is vice-captain and elder statesman of the Sri Lanka Test team with 113 appearances for his country.
The 27-year-old right-arm fast bowler who bowls with a slinging action is the third highest wicket-taker in Tests for his country with 101 wickets from 30 Tests. In the last Test series Sri Lanka played at home against India in June, Malinga played in the first and third Test and was rested for the second. He played a stellar role in Sri Lanka’s historic 2-1 maiden one-day series victory in Australia this month winning the Man of the Series award for his contribution with the ball as well as the bat.
“We’ve got enough ammunition now with Dilhara (Fernando) and Dammika (Prasad) who bowled really well in Australia, Thilan Thushara coming back from injury he played in the 3-day game and (Chanaka) Welegedera as well plus the two young boys Suranga Lakmal and Nuwan Pradeep who bowled really well with the ‘A’ team. It’s a great opportunity for these guys to show what they are capable of,” Jayawardene said.
Jayawardene stated that after the World Cup Sri Lanka will have to assess whether they could play Malinga in Test matches depending on the work load he puts in.
“We’ll have to monitor him individually and Lasith could think why risk bowling a lot and get injured again and be out for a year and a half. It’s a career threatening injury where he might not be able to bowl again. We have to manage him and see how best to utilise him in the shorter version of the game,” said Jayawardene,
“We can play Lasith depending on how fit he is. If the physio is happy with him playing a Test match then we can use him sparingly. But I don’t think after the injury he had whether we can risk him. It might be risking his career as well. We have to be very cautious about it. It’s a bit too early for us to totally write him off from Test cricket but we have to manage him that’s how I would put it,” he said.
The West Indies series is the first that Sri Lanka will be going in without the redoubtable Muralitharan. The champion off-spinner retired from Test cricket after the first Test against India at Galle in June with a world record haul of 800 Test wickets.
“I don’t think you can replace guys like Murali who’s taken 800 Test wickets and (Chaminda) Vaasy 355 wickets. That’s going to be a tough one. But you’ll never know there might be a young bowler who will turn up and be consistent. I won’t say it’s going to be easy and we can have a solution for everything. But it can be very exciting as well because rather than depending on one of the bowlers now we have to play as a unit of five bowlers who are going to take 20 wickets rather than one of them picking up 8 or 12,” said Jayawardene.
“Now we need to get guys to share wickets. We need to look into those kinds of tactical moves. What we have to realise is that it is quite difficult to replace players just like that but given opportunities and having a lot of faith we’ve seen in the last year or so it has happened in one-day cricket where all the youngsters have delivered. We have to have the same plan of pacing them in Test cricket as well and give them enough opportunities and encourage them to do things with a free mind,” he said.
Jayawardene agreed that the best thing to happen to Sri Lanka cricket was the advent of young all-rounder Angelo Mathews.
“We always need fresh guys coming into the system and putting their hand up. If there is a guy who is an all-rounder (we never had a genuine all-rounder for a long time) like Angie coming into the line-up and could deliver with the bat and the ball for us it makes a huge difference,” said Jayawardene.
“The confidence he shows and the way he learns about the game everyday is good for us and for the future of cricket. There are a few other younger boys who are doing very well like Jeevan Mendis and Dinesh Chandimal who’s been used as well in the system. If these guys make the rapid progress that Angelo has done in another 4-5 years time when the senior boys leave these guys will be quite adequate to take those roles and take Sri Lanka cricket forward which is the most important thing,” he said.
Looking ahead at the future Jayawardene stated, “Honestly I haven’t thought about it. But this is going to be a very big World Cup for me. I’ve just kept everything for that. After the World Cup we got two years a lot of Test cricket ahead of us. I just need to refocus and see what my priorities are going to be.
“I am not going to be very selfish it’s going to be what the team requires and how we need to progress. Definitely after the World Cup I need to sit with the selectors and discuss those options of what plans they have, where we need to go and depending on that I’ll make my decision.”
Courtesy of http://www.nation.lk/2010/11/14/sports1.htm
No comments:
Post a Comment