I Am Missing Lasith Malinga In Test Cricket

Like Sri Lanka, Pakistan too took themselves into the shells when they started their first innings on a benign pitch at Abu Dhabi. But like the Lankans they didn’t panic and went on to script a somnolence batting which was completely un-Pakistani.

Usually, the Pakistani batsmen are free fluent stroke makers and love to play their strokes which most of the times scripts a premature collapse. But at on the flat track at Abu Dhabi and against a toothless Lankan attack they decided to drop the anchors down and play like the ancient times.

Good for the Pakistani batsmen that their patience and somnolence style didn’t precipitate a collapse but sad for Sri Lanka that their bowlers couldn’t trigger a collapse while the Pakistani batsmen trapped themselves in a defensive zone.

The Lankans were missing someone.

When the Lankan batsmen went for a defensive approach, the caliber of the Pakistani pacemen in the shape of Cheema and Junaid put the Lankan batsmen under pressure with some quality pace bowling which featured accuracy, discipline, pace and late movements. But in case of Sri Lanka, their bowlers didn’t have that ability to put the Pakistani batsmen in front of a gun with either skill or hostility.

I personally was missing the guile and pace of Lasith Malinga. The slinger would have been the thorn in the Pakistani batsmen’s throat as in course of time his yorkers delivered with immense pace which achieves marvelous late movements due to a slinging action, would have left the Pakistani batsmen at bay. And the Pakistani innings would have been more exciting and so is the Test match.

But sadly the slinger is not at Abu Dhabi. The cricketing world will not watch him in white kits.  A knee injury picked up during the Australia tour in 2007 threatened to cut short Malinga's career, however, and he only played one-day cricket until July 2010. But after appearing in the first two Tests against India, his knee could not take the strain and he did not play the final Test of that series. In April 2011, he decided to end his Test career to spare his knee further damage.

A pathetic end to one of the finest prospects of world cricket and how badly Test cricket lovers are missing him! He preferred T20 and ODI cricket over Test cricket but I just feel that he also could have continued Test cricket if he just wished it. He could have shunned T20 cricket and bowl in shorter spells in Test cricket which is enough for a bowler of his caliber to pick up wickets in plenty.

I’m not sure about the degenerative knee conditions but many champions like Imran Khan and Dennis Lillee have fought back strongly with their fatal and career threatening injuries to make themselves available for Test cricket. I think Malinga too could have continued playing Test cricket.

But the reality is that the slinger isn’t present in Test cricket and for which people like me misses him badly at present. I’m sure the whole Lankan team, who were being roasted under the hot Abu Dhabi sun too had been missing Malinga.

If only Lasith Malinga was there……………….

Thank You

Faisal Caesar