Sri Lankan speedster Lasith Malinga’s availability in the IPL was once under serious doubts. At first the Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) made it compulsory for him to play the domestic One-Day tournament.
The board said that playing in the tournament is one of the criteria to get selected for the World Cup. Later they allowed him to play in the IPL. However they once again called him back before the start of the One-Day tournament on April 4.
Malinga was supposed to leave a day before, i.e. on April 3. However there was a match scheduled between Mumbai Indians on Chennai Super Kings on April 3. Malinga showed his utmost dedication, by playing for his franchise and then flew to Sri Lanka in midnight.
The One-Day tournament will begin with the match between Galle and Kandy. Malinga will be captaining the Galle side and promptly left for that team after the IPL match ended. The One-Day match will be played in Pallekele stadium in Kandy.
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Two matches within 12 hours
When Malinga was bowling the 18th over against CSK, the clock had already struck 12 in the midnight. After the game ended, he took a flight from Mumbai and Colombo. It took him almost 150 minutes and an extra 1 hour to reach Kandy.
This means that Malinga must have reached his destination by 4 AM in the morning. As a result it means that he would be playing two games in two different countries within 12 hours. Such dedication by a star player should be hailed.
The One-Day tournament will end on April 11. It will now be seen if Malinga joins Mumbai Indians side and play the rest of the tournament before the World Cup begins.