IPL 2019: Lasith Malinga expected to join the Mumbai Indians immediately after BCCI slams SLC

Amidst the injury to key pacer Adam Milne, the Mumbai Indians franchise also faced the scare of Sri Lanka fast bowler Lasith Malinga’s unavailability. Earlier on Saturday, Malinga had indicated that he’ll be unavailable for at least one-third of the 12th edition of the IPL, that commenced earlier today, on March 23. However, the latest news is that the fast bowler will join the Mumbai team on March 24.

MI will start their IPL 2019 campaign on Sunday when they host the 3rd match of this season, at the Wankhede. The current ODI captain of Sri Lanka, Malinga, who continues to be one of the most successful bowlers in the history of Indian Premier League, had earlier ruled himself out of the first six matches of the marquee T20 league and further suggested the franchise to replace him for the entire season.

The reason was the Provincial tournament arranged by the Sri Lanka Cricket in order to prepare the players for the upcoming World Cup, which starts on May 30. The said domestic tournament, which would count as metric in the World Cup selection process, is scheduled to be played from the 4th to 11th of April.

Malinga to join the MI camp on Monday

As the MI coach Mahela Jayawardene had earlier notified, the management had no information of the domestic tournament during the IPL auction. The Lankan board had previously given the green signal over Malinga’s recruitment for the IPL and the pacer was bought by Mumbai for Rs 2 crore. 

Deeming the ‘Super Provincial One Day domestic tournament’ as a conflict of interest, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has slammed the SLC board for the unanticipated blow as Malinga was notified to be available during the auction. After BCCI sent in the strong words to SLC, Malinga is expected to join the Mumbai Indians squad in Bengaluru, on March 25. He will, however, miss Mumbai’s opening match against Delhi Capitals on March 24. 

Here is the MI squad for IPL 2019:

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