Malinga to miss second Test against India, Mendis back

[Gunner_Mania]

Fast bowler Lasith Malinga will return to Test cricket after two-and-a-half years after being named in the 16-member Sri Lanka squad for the three-Test series against India beginning on July 18. However, there was no place for spinner Ajantha Mendis, who tormented India during their previous Test visit two years ago. Malinga played his last Test against England at Galle in 2007 before a knee injury laid him low and forced him out of cricket for nine months. Malinga was cured by Sri Lanka President Mahinda Rajapakse's personal physician Dr Eliyantha White and since then his appearances for his country has been only in limited-over internationals and in Twenty20 Internationals. Malinga's return to Test cricket was slow because the team physio did not want to push him too early to play in the longer version of the game. However selection committee sources stated that they had got the greenlight from physio Tommy Simsek who has been monitoring Malinga's progress carefully that he was now fully fit to play in a five-day Test match. "Malinga has nine more days before the first Test against India and we are confident he will be fit to play. He has been bowling long spells at the nets and has shown no side effects," a selection committee source said. Since making his Test debut against Australia at Darwin in 2004, Malinga has played in 28 Tests and captured 91 wickets. Offspinner Muttiah Muralitharan who is due to retire at the end of Galle Test has also been named in the squad along with left-arm spinner Rangana Herath and young off-spinner Suraj Randiv who is likely to take Muralitharan's place for the rest of the series. Squad: Kumar Sangakkara (capt), Muttiah Muralitharan (vc), Tillakaratne Dilshan, Tharanga Paranavitana, Mahela Jayawardene, Thilan Samaraweera, Angelo Mathews, Prasanna Jayawardene, Lasith Malinga, Rangana Herath, Dilhara Fernando, Dammika Prasad, Suraj Randiv, Thilina Kandamby, Chanaka Welegedara, Lahiru Thirimanne. http://www.cricinfo.com/sri-lanka-v-india-2010/content/current/story/466701.html

Wasn't he left out for some tactical reasons during the Asia Cup? He is not around for the test series also? :hmmm:

[Lord]

mendis:hehe: Malinga is back:fear:i'm pretty sure we'll see seaming tracks now that Zak isnt there.epic pwnage in store

[Sir john]

Looks like lanka making seamer friendly track.

[Andy]

2-1 To Lanka.

[Clarke]

Our batting is better, why give up hope so soon on seaming tracks ?

[flamy]

BAW surprise attax :woot:

[Clarke]

btw where's Kulasekara (injured?), if they had seaming tracks in mind, he's not bad at all. He troubled the padosis a lot last time.

[cowboysfan]

a seaming track might actually be better for us as we know that Ishant and sree are pretty ineffective on flat ones.our batsmen are theoretically better equipped(except yuvi)to play better on them than the lankans.

[gaurav92]

Well the Mystery Boy two years ago was supposed to break Murali's record and now he finds himself not fit enough to make the cut in the playing eleven :D.Strange

[Dravid]

r they hiding him or something keeping him for world cup maybe

[jusarrived]

Our batting is better' date=' why give up hope so soon on seaming tracks ?[/quote'] SL are making a huge mistake here . Our batsmen will always do better on such tracks + Sree & co are different bowlers on helpful tracks . 3-0 to india :two_thumbs_up:

[jusarrived]

r they hiding him or something keeping him for world cup maybe

hes uselss , no hiding there

[TheWall]

rather than having a 700-800 scores n a pathetic draw, let any one of the team win with lively tracks

[DomainK]

Ajanta Mendis = Hirwani part II.

[Lord]

i dont know why they keep ignoring Upul Tharanga.hes in form has a good technique for tests too.he didnt do well initially,but now is much improved.if he can comeback in ODIs,why not tests

[achilles]

Wasn't he left out for some tactical reasons during the Asia Cup? He is not around for the test series also? :hmmm:

BCCSL selector, presumably Arjuna Ranatunga, said he was out of the squad for the 1st Test only. Various elements in the media however have been reporting that he is out of the series. :dontknow:

[achilles]

Ajanta Mendis = Hirwani part II.

Hirwani saab was a mystery bowler shielded by the BCCI too?

[Lord]

bt,can smeone tell wat will be effect of this series on our rakings?will we lose no.1 position is we lose this?

[Feed]

Mendis defies ‘law’ to rediscover magic after Test snub When Ajantha Mendis could not live up to expectations following his sensational Test debut two years ago, he was put forward as a prime example of the law of diminishing marginal utility. The more you consume something, the less effective it becomes, they said. More... Mendis defies ‘law’ to rediscover magic after Test snub Amol Karhadkar, Hindustan Times Colombo, July 14, 2010 When Ajantha Mendis could not live up to expectations following his sensational Test debut two years ago, he was put forward as a prime example of the law of diminishing marginal utility. The more you consume something, the less effective it becomes, they said. Mendis, who picked up 26 wickets in three Tests in his maiden series two years ago, has been able to add just 18 to that tally in his last seven Tests. While his first 26 wickets cost just 18.38 runs apiece, the last 18 have come at 40 runs a wicket. No wonder then that it didn’t come as a surprise when Mendis wasn’t named in Sri Lanka’s squad for the first against India. Was the magic of the carrom ball just a fleeting thrill? The army man showed his mettle on Tuesday with a six-wicket haul against the Indians during the warm-up tie. The spell, which was as good as any of his previous spells, not only put India on the backfoot as they enter the Test series but also virtually ensured Mendis of a place in Sri Lanka’s XI for the second Test. But what made the Sri Lankan selectors drop Mendis from the squad? “Because of his huge early success, there is a feeling of lack of patience at times. But by and large, it’s a question of when to use him,” Ranjit Fernando, a member of Sri Lanka’s national selection panel, told HT. “You don’t want to overexpose him. A precious commodity like him has to be handled as best as we can. We probably may not be 100 per cent while handling him, we may make mistakes down the way as everyone does. But the intention is to use him in a way which could get optimum use out of him.” After overcoming Mendis phobia in one-dayers, the India's cricketers have given the impression that they have worked him out. However, Tuesday ensured Mendis still has a lot to offer, especially in the longer version. “It will be foolish to write him off,” Fernando said. “If you say that people have found a way to play him, he will be the first person to make you look like an idiot.” Mendis did just that, and, for the time being at least, kept the law of diminishing marginal utility at bay.

[Zelig]

BREAKING NEWS: Malinga to miss second Test against India Lasith Malinga, the Sri Lankan fast bowler, has been rested from the second Test against India beginning in Colombo on July 26. Malinga was one of the architects of Sri Lanka's ten-wicket win in Galle but will miss out at the SSC because of stiffness in his right knee. :hmmm: