Mickey not willing to make exceptions for Malinga  

by Rex Clementine

Sri Lanka’s Head Coach Mickey Arthur has brushed aside suggestions that fast bowler Lasith Malinga could make a comeback again ahead of the T-20 World Cup in India later this year. Although, there are some strict fitness guidelines that are in place to make national players fall in line, a clause that has been included in the players’ contracts says that exceptions could be made in certain cases. This clause has left a bad taste in many mouths.

Sri Lanka’s senior players are up in arms refusing to sign contracts unless SLC removes the controversial clause.

There were suspicions that authorities were having something up their sleeve when they included the clause and yesterday cat was out of the bag when it was claimed that Malinga could make a comeback and could go onto play the T-20 World Cup in India.

However, Sri Lanka Head Coach Mickey Arthur indicated that the team has moved on from Malinga days. “We can not make exceptions at all,” Arthur told The Island.

Arthur has been a strong advocate of high fitness levels and had recommended compatriot Grant Ludon to take over as Fitness trainer of the national cricket team. Since Ludon took over, there has been lot of emphasis placed on the two kilometer run which players are supposed to finish in eight minutes and 30 seconds.

Several players who failed the fitness test including Dilruwan Perera and Avishka Fernando were not considered for selections while others like Prabath Jayasuriya, who failed the skin fold test, also became ineligible.

Players at the moment are on their toes as the signal from Arthur is that more excellence is needed on the fitness count. Once the players get comfortable with the two kilometer run, they are expected to compete it in less than eight minutes.

So, while Arthur is going on one extreme, demanding his players nothing but the best, those who are holding responsible positions seems to be going on another extreme treating certain players with kids’ gloves.

If an exception is made for Malinga, all what Arthur has been building up all these months will be lost and players will be looking for short cuts as fitness has been compromised.

Malinga has had issues with fitness in the past which has led to altercations with authorities. He’s surely passed his prime as well but through some clever maneuvering has managed to not only stick around but hold onto captaincy too.