Lasith Malinga to captain Sri Lanka in the 4th ODI

The Lankan lions have a lot more to deal with than just the on-field obstacles in the ongoing series against India. The hosts were thrashed in the Test series 3-0 and are now trailing 3-0 in the five-match ODI series. None of their plans or strategies seem to be working and to add to their woes, names in the injury list have been increasing consistently. Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) in the mean time, has named experienced fast bowler Lasith Malinga as the skipper for the fourth ODI against India on August 31 at Colombo.

The decision to hand over the captaincy duties to Malinga comes after stand-in skipper for the third ODI, Chamara Kapugedera was dropped from the game owing to the blunder he committed at the toss in the 3rd ODI. Earlier, Kapugedera was asked to lead the side in the third ODI, as full-time skipper Upul Tharanga was handed a 2-match ban for maintaining a slow over rate, during the 2nd ODI game. However, all these injuries and bans cannot be an excuse for the hosts, who have failed to compete and live up to the expectations of their home crowd, both in the Tests and in the ODIs so far.

Malinga’s appointment

The Lankan board named Malinga as the skipper for the 4th ODI to be played on Thursday. The experienced fast bowler is also one scalp away from the 300-wicket mark. “We have appointed Lasith Malinga to lead the side,” said the chairman of selectors Sanath Jayasuriya.

Kapugedera dropped

Sri Lanka’s stand-in skipper Chamara Kapugedera was earlier reported to have been ruled out of the next ODI due to a back injury, but putting more light on the issue; it has been reported that the batsman has been forcefully rested for the next match, mainly due to the incorrect decision of opting to bat first having won the toss, which saw the team crumble to a 6-wicket defeat at Pallekele.