Malinga does u-turn on retirement, says wants to continue for 2 more years
Colombo: Sri Lanka captain and veteran pacer Lasith Malinga has had a rethink on his decision to retire after next year's Twenty20 World Cup, saying he can carry on for another two years.
Malinga, in March, had stated that he wanted to retire after the Twenty20 World Cup scheduled in October-November in Australia next year. But the 36-year-old, who captains Sri Lanka in the shortest format, now says he can play on beyond that.
"T20 is four overs and I feel with my skill, I can manage T20 as a bowler. As a captain, because I've played so many T20s around the world that I feel I can manage that period for maybe another two years," Malinga told 'ESPNCricinfo'.
The veteran said he is waiting to hear from Sri Lanka Cricket on whether he would be leading the side in the Twenty20 showpiece.
"(Sri Lanka Cricket) said for the World Cup I have to be lead there but you never know in Sri Lanka," he said.
The only bowler with 100 T20 International wickets said Sri Lanka need continuity in leadership for a lasting change of fortunes after a period of slump.
"Sri Lanka are lacking that skillful bowler, they lack those consistencies. We can't get one year, one and a half years, all fixed, it might be that we need to get patience, maybe two or three years," he said.
"Consistency is very important. I feel whoever is doing the next selection have to understand that (for) people (to learn), they have to be there. If he's on the bench, nobody can learn," he added.
Malinga said the only way he can contribute to the game in the country is by continuing to play.
"If I believe I can give something for the youngsters, then I need to be there. I can tell, but now I can show them 'this is the way how you do it.' But if I don't play then I can't do that," he said.
Since his reappointment as captain, Sri Lanka have won one, tied one, and lost eight of their last 10 T20 Internationals.
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Sunil Narine's ton goes in vain as Jos Buttler's unbeaten century guides Rajasthan Royals to victory
Kolkata, Apr 16: Rajasthan Royals pulled off the Indian Premier League's biggest run chase to beat Kolkata Knight Riders by two wickets here on Tuesday.
Asked to bat first, KKR rode on Sunil Narine's 56-ball 109 to post 223/6 in the allotted 20 overs.
In reply, RR were in all sorts of trouble at one stage but Jos Buttler blasted his way to an unbeaten 60-ball 107, as the visitors completed the chase in the last ball of the match.
After his team was asked to bat first on a fresh pitch, Narine blazed away to a 49-ball 100 to lead KKR's charge in this top-of-the-table clash at Eden Gardens.
It was a one-man show from KKR as Narine (109 off 56) batted till the 18th over, first stitching 85 runs with Angkrish Raghuvanshi (30) and then adding 51 runs with Andre Russell (13).
However, Buttler had other ideas as he did the job for RR from an extremely difficult position.
Brief scores:
Kolkata Knight Riders: 223/6 in 20 overs (Sunil Narine 109; Avesh Khan 2/35).
Rajasthan Royals: 224/8 in 20 overs (Jos Buttler 107 not out; Sunil Narine 2/30).
An Impactful Innings 😍
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) April 16, 2024
🔝 class effort from a 🔝 player ft. Jos Buttler
Watch the match LIVE on @StarSportsIndia and @JioCinema 💻📱#TATAIPL | #KKRvRR | @rajasthanroyals pic.twitter.com/5vz2qLIC7Z
