Lasith Malinga hopes for big turnout during ODI retirement against Bangladesh

Sudhir Gupta 22:04 23/07/2019
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  • Sri Lanka's Lasith Malinga.

    Sri Lanka veteran fast bowler Lasith Malinga confirmed on Tuesday he will retire from ODI cricket after the first match of the upcoming series against Bangladesh.

    Malinga asked fans to attend his farewell ODI at the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo on Friday and hoped to play T20 cricket in the future.

    In a video posted on his wife’s Facebook page, Malinga said he was glad to play for the team again after being sidelined by selectors two years ago.

    “Friday will be the last day you will see me playing a ODI match,” Malinga said. “If you can, please come for the match.”

    The right-arm quick hoped to play T20 cricket and set his sights on the 2020 World T20 in Australia.

    “I hope to be able to take Sri Lanka to the next T20 World Cup,” he said.

    “I hope I will have an opportunity to play in that tournament, but if there are better players than me, I don’t mind being left out.”

    Malinga’s retirement was first announced by skipper Dimuth Karunaratne. He will retire as Sri Lanka’s third-highest wicket-taker in ODIs with 335 scalps in 219 innings.

    Only Muttiah Muralitharan (523) and Chaminda Vaas (399) have taken more wickets than Malinga in ODIs for the country. He was Sri Lanka’s highest wicket-taker at the 2019 World Cup with 13 scalps in seven innings.

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