Injury-prone Sri Lanka fast bowler Lasith Malinga on Friday quit Test cricket in a bid to prolong his career in one-day internationals and Twenty20 matches.
Malinga recently attracted controversy by making himself unavailable for Sri Lanka's tour of England, while turning out for the Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Mumbai Indians. "In January this year I wrote a letter to Sri Lanka Cricket and released a statement to the media confirming that I planned to reassess my Test future after the World Cup," he said in a statement."
The Sydney Morning Herald quoted him, as saying: "I decided that I needed to make myself unavailable for Test cricket in an effort to prolong my career as a national cricketer for Sri Lanka."
He added: "Although I am sufficiently fit to play both ODI and T20 cricket, I have a long-standing degenerative condition in my right knee that needs to be carefully managed."
The 27-year-old Malinga, known for bowling accurate yorkers, bagged 101 wickets in 30 Tests with his slinging action since making his debut against Australia in Darwin in 2004. He took a three-year break from Test cricket until coming back to the format when he figured in a home series against India in 2010. He has three five-wicket hauls in a Test innings to his credit.
