The untold story of Lasith Malinga and his battle with Sri Lankan Cricket Board

SLC’s ill-treatment

SLC needs to be prudent in how it uses its golden goose

Malinga said he was available for all limited-overs internationals and planned to travel to Sri Lanka soon to discuss his plans with the selectors. But the selection panel headed by Duleep Mendis menaced Malinga insisting that he should either return to Sri Lanka to attend a rehabilitation programme, a mystical entity that he was deprived of 3 years ago, or play Test cricket. Failure to do either of this would mean that he can't play for Sri Lanka ever in any formats. The ineptness of the administrators couldn't have been better exposed than the eventual dependence of the selectors on Malinga to win matches for Sri Lanka, when Malinga neither returned home nor played Test cricket but continued to play ODIs and T20s, which the selectors said that he will not be allowed to.

A board should be able to take bold decisions. If they really feel what a player has done is unfair, and if they think a player is not committed to the team, then they have all the rights in the world to rusticate him. Though Malinga neither returned home nor played a Test in England, the board didn't proscribe him from playing cricket for Sri Lanka, which goes on to tell stories about what the real intention of Sri Lanka Cricket was. All what they tried with Malinga is to deter, threaten and coax him into accepting their whims and fancies.

SLC always needed someone to hide behind. They have never had any vision or a long term goal. All they are endowed with is short term goals. In this instance, they didn't care about Malinga's future, or how Sri Lanka's bowling would be affected with Malinga quitting all forms of cricket with a knee injury, but instead they wanted success in England, since an ignominious defeat in England would severely expose Sri Lanka Cricket.

In Sri Lanka, the administrators come under criticism only when the team performs poorly. Hence, contriving victory at any cost means that the administrators have something to hide their corrupted face behind. Malinga's response to his no-to-Tests-and-knee-injury criticism was emotional and hysterical.

"They don’t wake up with sore knees every morning like I do and they did not spend over a year worrying whether I would ever be able to bowl again”! It is not a question of whether Test cricket is more or less important. It is a question of what is physically possible and what the team feels is the most sensible thing to do.

"Ai meeta kalin maawa dakala nadda? (Haven't you seen me before?)" was made a profanity in Sri Lanka, by the same media that doesn't venture to expose or bring out the corruptions, conspiracies and intrigues of Sri Lanka Cricket or the politicians, for the fear of being bludgeoned by a government sponsored goons. The media in Sri Lanka always looks for the softest of the targets, and poor Malinga fell a victim.

Made scapegoat

Now, after the 3-2 defeat against Pakistan in UAE, they needed a scapegoat to hide their mistakes, and that scapegoat was none other than Lasith Malinga. How could a cricket board, that comprises of members who have played cricket before and managers who are expected to manage human resources properly, blame one single human being for the failure of the team?

It was clearly evident that our batting never clicked during most part of the series on the flat tracks of United Arab Emirates, which held the major share of the causes for our defeat. Blaming a bowler who bowls most of his overs at the death, in a world where hitting sixes is as easy as making a 15$ dollar website for 15 billion$, is not only ridiculous but also an insult on the intelligence of the masses that follow cricket. It is true that Malinga has lost his efficacy, but much due to the two ball rule that was effected and has been in existence since 2011.

Regaining his lost touch

Malinga's ODI stats before and since Oct 2011

	Innings	Wickets	Avg	SR	Econ	BBI
Before Oct 2011	90	149	25.03	30.4	4.93	6/38
Since Oct 1 2011	33	51	31.07	33.5	5.55	5/54

The lack of reverse swing and the fact that the balls do not lose their hard mantle means hitting the bowl is as easy as ever at the death, not to mention the amusing field restrictions. Something that the critics have forgotten or purposely overlooked is Malinga's new ball bowling that has improved length wise and breadth wise.

Over-wise break-up of Malinga's ODI bowling

Period	First 15 - average	ER/ SR	16-40 - average	ER/ SR	41-50 - average	ER/ SR
Before Oct 2011	36.32	4.57/ 47.67	23.12	4.60/ 30.12	17.21	6.21/ 16.61
Since Oct 1, 2011	29.05	4.94/ 35.29	53.41	5.62/ 57.0	20.31	6.29/ 19.37

It proves that this man has adapted to the new rules and has found that the best period to pick up wickets is the first half of the innings due to the amount of swing the two new balls produce. So, it's always a boon to have someone bowling at the death and going over little more than six an over, a luxury any team would acknowledge with glee, unless the team is Sri Lanka. Malinga has been the golden egg laying goose of Sri Lanka Cricket. But, in a haste to reap prompt results, the board is trying to slaughter the goose and get all the golden eggs out: an action that would yield no avail. Malinga's carrier can be prolonged only if the injury he sustained is managed properly. Forcing him into playing Test cricket would mean that he will not even be able to walk anymore. But the history is that Malinga has quit Test cricket, mainly due to the pressure inflicted on him by the SLC. Now, his commitment to the team has been censured.

Rumors say that he is autonomous and doesn't abide by the bowling coach, which was 'rubbished' by the bowling coach. In a democratic country, any citizen has the right to make his own calls. It may be whether to prioritize IPL over country or whether or not to chose a lucrative job offered by a foreign franchise over a local job with a mediocre salary. When Kumara Sangakkara's Champions League T20 dilemma became a country v money issue, Sanga openly slammed the board and the media for escalating it to that level. One thing that Sri Lanka Cricket need to understand is the fact that if they want Malinga to play for the team so that they can succeed; then the SLC should implore and grovel Malinga to get his service.

Remeber Cricket Australia increased the salary of Ricky Ponting three-folds when he was approached by an IPL franchise to play the league at the cost of playing for Australia. There is no second word to the fact that Malinga is paramount for Sri Lanka's future plans. Given that he is the most sought-after bowler in T20 leagues, playing for Sri Lanka is not so important for Malinga to earn a living, as it is for some of the other players. There are many franchises, leagues, and tournaments that would submit themselves to Malinga. If SLC want the services of Malinga, then he should be treated, at least, fairly. More of these accuses and rumors, Malinga would not mind quitting playing for Sri Lanka, which will do serious damage to Sri Lanka Cricket but not to this man.

Remember: Sri Lanka’s progress depend on Lasith Malinga and not the other way around.