Malinga pulls out of Zimbabwe tour
Sri Lankan pace ace Lasith Malinga has made a request to Sri Lanka cricket that he would not be available for their tour of Zimbabwe or the Champions League T-20 tournament which will take place in India.
The Champion’s League tournament is scheduled to begin on September 17 in India while the tour of Zimbabwe will begin from October 3.
Malinga is reported to have cited his wife’s confinement as the reason for the pull-out. At present he is in the West Indies taking part in the Caribbean T-20 tournament.
It is also learned that Malinga’s request still has not been ratified by Sri Lanka’s Chief Cricket Selector Sanath Jayasuriya who also is overseas at present.
However, would the Sri Lankan Cricket selectors be bold enough to take a youthful side in their tour of Zimbabwe?
Last week Sri Lankan cricket selectors led by Sanath Jayasuriya played it safe when they named all their experienced players into the probable squad twenty seven
Lankan selector and former fast bowler Pramodya Wickremasinghe told the Sunday Times “We are awaiting the return of Selection Committee Chairman Sanath Jayasuriya back to the island. Yes, we named all the experienced players into the squad. But, we also have named a squad of 27 players. So far we have not taken a decision whether it is going to be a youthful side who would finally make 
it to Zimbabwe. Right now all the named players (besides the players who are in the West Indies taking part in the Caribbean Premier League T-20 tournament) are at practices. Once Sanath is back we will name the final squad”.
However the Sunday Times reliably learns that the Lankan team management is not so comfortable in taking a youthful squad on this tour. They have shown their reluctance. Even a senior coach confided in us stating that the younger players are still not settled properly into their slots, and if Sri Lanka takes a youthful side like the way India did, Zimbabwe which is quite a good opposition on home conditions would have a walkover the Lankan juniors.
At the moment Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardena, T.M. Dilshan and Lasith Malinga are in the West Indies and would join the rest of the pool (besides Malinga) at practices.
The squad of 27 reads as: T.M Dilshan, Dimuth Karunaratne, Udara Jayasundara, Kusal Janith Perera, Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardana, Lahiru Thirimanne, Dinesh Chandimal, Kithruwan Vithanage, Angelo Perera, Sachithra Serasinghe, Ashan Priyanjana, Saranga Lakmal, Shaminda Eranga, Dhammika Prasad, Vimukthi Perera, Nuwan Kulasekara, Angelo Mathews, Thisara Perera, Rangana Herath, Sachithra Senanayake, Ajantha Mendis, Dilruwan Perera, Kaushal Silva, Kosala Kulasekara, Kaushal Lokuarachchi and Isuru Udana.
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