Sri Lanka pace spearhead Lasith Malinga picked up a four-for to guide his side to victory against UAE in their first match of the Asia Cup T20 2016 on Thursday at the Shere Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur, Dhaka.
Malinga, who sustained a serious injury back in November 2015, marked his return in national colours in style against UAE on Thursday. He was adjudged the man of the match for his performance.
But one could easily make out that Malinga was not in the best of shape, as he ran into bowl at the UAE batsmen, despite his success. Malinga also admitted as much, while speaking to reporters at the post-match press conference.
The Mumbai Indians speed machine is considering retirement post the ICC World T20 2016. "There might be" an announcement soon is what the Sri Lanka death over specialist said on Thursday, when asked about his retirement plans.
"I am playing [for] 12 years in the national team, I am 32 years old. I think if now I have an injury, it is hard to get rest. If I take rest for a year or more, that's the end of my career," Malinga was quoted as saying by ESPN Cricinfo.
"If I need to play for my country, I have to play tough cricket in the last few months or years. I don't think I can fully recover from this injury but I try to manage this in future.
"I don't know how many months or years I will play. At the end of my career, I try to play maximum number of games for my national team or in the IPL. I want to play as long as possible, and at my best."
Meanwhile, Sri Lankam after their unconvincing victory over UAE on Thursday, will next face the hosts Bangladesh. Malinga believes if they want to do well in this tournament, they will have to play better cricket against. Malinga was also not very happy with his performance, even after picking up a four-for and the man of the match award.
"I am not happy . I haven't bowled a single ball in the last three months. I just bowled in the nets in the last two days. I am happy with the result but I think I have to do more for the team," Malinga added.
"I will try my best in the next game. It is not my 100 percent, maybe 60-70 percent, but still I managed to bowl yorkers and slower balls. Team expects more than that from me."
