Lasith Malinga might pull the plug on his glittering career after India series

Tons from Virat Kohli (131) and Rohit Sharma (104) saw the Indian team ease past Sri Lanka in the 4th ODI encounter. After failing to register a single win yet on the tour, the island nation lost yesterday by a mammoth margin of 168 runs to trail 4-0 in the 5-match series. This was Sri Lanka’s biggest defeat (margin of runs) at home in the fifty-over format.

After posting a staggering 375/5 on the scoreboard, the visitors bundled out the hosts for 207 to register the huge win. Apart from the batsmen, the bowling department also put up a neat and crisp performance. Kuldeep Yadav, Hardik Pandya, and Jasprit Bumrah returned with two wickets each while debutant Shardul Thakur picked up one wicket and looked impressive with the new ball.

However, coming on the back of successive defeats, ace Sri Lankan fast bowler Lasith Malinga on Thursday revealed that he will consider his future for the Sri Lankan team after the current series against India culminates. He has taken only two wickets in four matches and is returning after a knee injury which kept him on the sidelines for 19 months. Malinga dismissed the Indian skipper to claim his 300th wicket, but the 34-year-old has looked a shadow of his former self in the current series where he has struggled against quality Indian batting.

Excerpts from Malinga’s post match conference

Justifying his uncertainty to play international cricket, Malinga in the post match conference last night said, “I’m playing after 19 months following a leg injury. In the Zimbabwe and India series I couldn’t play well. I’ll see where I’m at after this series, and evaluate how long I can play given the way my body is.”

Renowned for his slinging bowling action and yorkers, the 34-year-old further added, “No matter how experienced I am, if I can’t win a match for the team and do what the team needs, there’s no point in me being here. I’ll see if I can make up for that 19 months and regain that form over the next three or four months. I’ll see the number of games that I get. If not I’ll have to consider the state of my body, and what is expected of me. If I can’t deliver that, then I’ll happily retire.”