It is not yet known if Lasith Malinga will be available for selection for Mumbai Indians straightaway © BCCI
Mumbai Indians received a boost on Friday evening with their premier fast bowler Lasith Malinga joining the squad. The Sri Lankan pacer had missed out on their first two matches due to fitness concerns. However, it is not yet known whether Malinga will be available for selection immediately.
Two days before IPL started, Mumbai coach Ricky Ponting had pointed out that Malinga was likely to arrive at this stage but sit out at least the first half of the IPL as he recovers from a knee injury. Ponting said he would join the franchise to have his “fitness assessed”. “I believe he will be joining us after the first couple of games to have his fitness assessed,” Ponting had said. “Right now it’s unlikely he will take part in the first half of the tournament anyway.”
Malinga has been trying to recover from a bone bruise in his left knee since November. He was to captain Sri Lanka in the Asia Cup, but played just the one match. He then decided to stand down as captain for the World T20, given his injury concerns.
In the absence of Malinga, the IPL’s overall highest wicket-taker, Mumbai had fielded New Zealand fast bowler Tim Southee in their victory over Kolkata Knight Riders earlier this week. In the tournament opener, which they lost to Rising Pune Supergiants, Mumbai had opted to field an extra overseas batsman in Lendl Simmons, while Southee’s New Zealand team-mate Mitchell McCleneghan had shared the new ball with India seamer Jasprit Bumrah.
Nagraj Gollapudi is an assistant editor at ESPNcricinfo
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Source: ESPN Crickinfo