Malinga cannot rest on his laurels – Kapila

Chairman of selectors Kapila Wijegunawardene says sling-arm fast bowler Lasith Malinga, will need to rediscover his lost venom if he is to be considered Sri Lanka’s premier pacer in future ODIs, after being axed for the fifth and final one-day match against Pakistan at Hambantota last Sunday.
Kusal Perera led Sri Lanka’s strong batting display to give the hosts a comprehensive, but inconsequential, 165-run win over Pakistan in the fifth and final one-dayer, as the latter clinched the five match series 3-2.
“Being professionals every player needs to realize their shortcomings no matter what their reputation is,” Wijegunawardene told Ceylon Today explaining the reasons behind the noteworthy omission of Sri Lanka’s most potent bowler in the recent past.
“Whether it is Lasith (Malinga) or anyone else for that matter, they all must realize that no one is able to rest on one’s laurels forever. You are only as good as your last game. That is the mantra any professional sportsman will stick to, and considering the below-par returns of Malinga in the first four ODIs, we made the call to drop him and give that place to Lahiru Gamage, and the end result proved it was not a bad move.”
Malinga, 31, who has been the spearhead of Sri Lanka’s bowling attack for much of his career since his international debut in 2004, had an off colour ODI series against Pakistan as he could only pick up four wickets at a staggering cost of 246 runs, figures which Wijegunawardene felt forced the hand of the selectors.
The chairman of selectors still felt Malinga, who is Sri Lanka’s T-20 skipper, would have more left in his tank to unload for Sri Lanka in future ODIs.
But, the ex-Sri Lanka pacer warned the sling-arm fast bowler who has captured 287 one-day wickets, would have to undergo a dramatic transformation from where his form is at currently if he is to command a regular place in the ODI squad.
Wijegunawardene reflecting on the home team’s big win in the final one-dayer said it was only a glimpse of the talent possessed by Angelo Mathews’ team in ODI cricket and stated the next challenge would be to maintain consistency.
He added Sri Lanka must not be lulled into thinking that everything is hunky-dory by virtue of a comfortable win in a dead rubber contest.
He said the bigger picture was Pakistan were able to clinch their first ODI series triumph in the island-nation since 2006, to go along with their 2-1 series win in the preceding three match Test series, which was also their first in nine years on Sri Lanka soil.
“Our batting line up for the Hambantota match was the ideal combination and we should give continuity to it. To win ODIs your top four batsmen have to produce the goods, as one-day cricket is a batsman’s game. Kusal Janith, Angelo and Milinda (Siriwardene) were a revelation, and along with Dilshan, Lahiru and Chandimal our top six is established. Coming to our bowling line up, we tried a few combinations. Our bowlers must remember to bowl the right lines and lengths and thereby choke the batsmen and that is how you get wickets. Hopefully our boys would have learnt a thing or two from this series. But, the bigger picture was that we were outplayed in both Tests and ODIs and now we must address the shortcomings and be ready for future challenges.