However, there was something the seamer with the blonde hair did for his Southern Express teammates they will remember for a long time. He negotiated with Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) to make the board pay more from the money it receives from CLT20 to those Southern Express players who don't have a central contract.
On the eve of the Lankan T20 team's departure to India from Colombo, Southern Express skipper Jehan Mubarak spoke about Malinga's gesture, and about his side's prospects in the CLT20.
Excerpts...
What do you have to say about Malinga's act of not playing for your team but still battling to ensure better payment for players?
It shows what kind of a human being he is. He was criticized for choosing club over country but look, at the end of the day we are all contracted players. Malinga's contract with MI made it imperative for him to play for them in CLT20. However, he knows how difficult it is to survive as a professional cricketer in Sri Lanka, especially as a domestic cricketer. Malinga's compassionate gesture will allow some players to focus on the game without worrying about the money part.
Your team will surely miss him...
Yes, and to make it worse we will have to face him (laughs)! He is very hard to get away, especially in this format. However, I think we will do better against him than most teams, considering that we have played him a lot in the nets. You may not see him bowling so yorkers against us. Also, he has been the one devising all our strategies. I may just end up asking him in the middle where I can hit him for six! The positive part is we have Tillakaratne Dilshan instead of him in the side. I'm hoping Dilshan will have the same effect with the bat as Malinga would have had with the ball.
Will you have a word with Dishan about the 'Shehzad episode'?
I haven't seen the video, and knowing Dilshan, I know he doesn't take these things seriously. I will, though, speak with him about this.
In April 2012, you were arrested for a while after meeting with a terrible accident which killed a motorcyclist. How big a setback was that?
It affected my personal life but it taught me to value cricket more. I worked harder on my game. After this incident, I wanted to utilize each and every chance I got. It made me give my 100% every time I stepped on the field. And you can see the results - I made more than 1000 runs at an average of 105 last year in domestic cricket.
At 33, do you think you can make a national comeback?
I didn't utilize my chances well. Unfortunately, in our part of the world, age becomes a big factor but I still believe I can make a comeback if performance is given weightage.
You were a national swimming champion as a youngster. How difficult was it to prefer cricket to swimming?
The choice isn't difficult if you are in Sri Lanka (laughs)! As a swimmer, I was on my own. There was no one to support or cheer me, unlike in cricket. Swimming, however, made me fitter and inculcated in me discipline and self-motivation. All this helped me become a better cricketer.
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