It was a brilliant comeback to pick up 4 for 26 in his first appearance since November last year. Any bowler would have been happy to return with such figures. More so, if you are the captain of the defending champion and having led from the front to successfully defend 129. For Lasith Malinga, however, the eventual result may have been a happy one but the body was hinting at something more dire.
So much so that he repeatedly called this phase of his career as his last and was very hesitant to speculate on how much longer he could continue playing. Few months or few years and that could be it for the Sri Lankan pacer, thanks to the knee injury that he suffered.
"Might be," was his answer to a direct query if we would announce retirement before the upcoming World T20, another major tournament that they will begin as defending champions. "I don't know what will happen next day but I will try my best," he said.
For Malinga these 'last few years or months' is about trying to do as much as possible for Sri Lanka. He is a vital cog in the bowling unit as was evident. With the World T20 coming up, Malinga is determined to make it through the tournament. "We have World T20. I am the most experienced bowler.
"Whatever I can do through painkillers or injections, (if) this is the end of my career then if I can do something for the team, then I will always try to do that," said the visibly knackered skipper.
