London: Lasith Malinga has opted to rule himself out for at least the first six IPL matches for Mumbai Indians in order to qualify for the Sri Lanka World cup squad. Sri Lanka’s selectors have told their players that they must play in the forthcoming Super Provincial one day domestic tournament if they are to be considered for the World Cup and Malinga has chosen to fulfill that requirement, ESPN Cricinfo reported.
“I had asked the board for the No-Objection Certificate for me to play in the IPL, and they had said that was fine, but that all players who want to go to the World Cup would need to stay back for the provincial tournament, so I told them I would play in the provincial tournament, and I asked the board to inform Mumbai Indians and IPL, since it was their decision. I am okay with losing those earnings from IPL. I’m doing it for the country,” ESPN Cricinfo quoted Malinga as saying. Malinga was bought at the auction by Mumbai Indians for two crores. Mumbai Indians will play Delhi Capitals in their opening match of the IPL on Sunday at Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai.