Lasith Malinga, who was supposed to have seen through the entire IPL with the Mumbai Indians, on Wednesday late evening has to his home country to play in the Super Provincial One Day Tournament.
The Sri Lankan cricket board had agreed to release Malinga to play the IPL this season despite the World Cup starting next month. The pacer, however, made the decision to return to Sri Lanka to play for the domestic tournament.
The Super Provincial One Day tournament is scheduled to start on Thursday and end on April 11. Malinga will lead the Galle team in the four-team event, which also double up as Sri Lanka’s World Cup trials.
Initial reports said that Sri Lanka Cricket made it compulsory for Malinga to play the tournament. Later, his schedule was cleared to play in the IPL. With the decision to return to Sri Lanka for the tournament, there are speculations that Malinga could be eyeing the captaincy of the Sri Lankan team ahead of the World Cup.
After Mumbai Indians’ 37-run win over the Chennai Super Kings on Wednesday, Malinga promptly left for Sri Lanka to make it in time for the first match of the Super Provincial One Day Tournament.
