By BV Swagath
Lasith Malinga, the Yorker specialist from Sri Lanka, who had signed up a contract to play for Middlesex in the upcoming Friends Life t20 has pulled out from his commitment. Malinga was due to play in seven matches for Middlesex in the English domestic Twenty20 Competition.
The reason for Malinga’s pull out is because of his knee and back injuries after the completion of his campaign for Mumbai Indians in the recently concluded DLF Indian Premier League tournament. Malinga, who is set to play for his country in the ODI and T20I Series against Pakistan has been asked to rest prior to the international games.
According to the Middlesex County Website, former England bowler and also the Managing Director of the Club – Angus Fraser has commented on Malinga’s late pull out saying that "naturally, we are extremely disappointed that Lasith will not be playing for Middlesex CCC in this summer's Friends Life t20. Everyone at the club was looking forward to working with and watching Lasith play for The Panthers. His presence would have added a healthy dose of star dust to proceedings. I totally understand Lasith's concerns - his workload has been and is high - but am disappointed we are the side to be denied of his services.”
Fraser also said "a lot of work goes in to securing these deals and getting 'No Objection Certificates' from the relevant governing bodies. But we are not the only county to suffer in this way and over the coming days we will do all we can to secure the services of another high quality international cricketer for our 2012 Friends Life t20 campaign."
