Fast bowler Lasith Malinga will face a disciplinary inquiry from Sri Lanka Cricket over certain comments made by him against Sri Lanka’s Sports Minister Dayasiri Jayasekara, reported PTI.
Jayasekara had remarked that a some of the Sri Lankan cricketers are overweight following their early Champions Trophy exit. The veteran pacer lashed out against the minister in a television channel, “I don’t care about criticism from those who are simply warming chairs,” he said.
“What does a monkey know about a parrot’s nesting hollow? This is like a monkey getting into a parrot’s nest and talking about it.”
The board has appointed a three-member panel, which includes the SLC secretary Mohan de Silva and CEO Ashley de Silva, to look into the matter, a release stated.
Malinga, since his return from the Champions Trophy in London, had on two occasions acted in “contravention of the terms of agreement,” which specifically bar him from making any statements to the media without the prior approval of the SLC’s Chief Executive Officer.
After Sri Lanka’s exit from the Champions Trophy, Jayasekera publicly questioned the fitness levels of players, while insisting that the future selections would depend on the cricketers’ fitness.
Sri Lankans were poor on the field, missing a number of catches during their matches in the Champions Trophy and Jayasekera attributed that to poor fitness. Subsequently Malinga publicly ridiculed the Sports Minister’s knowledge of cricket, saying that catches are missed in any game.
He further added that nobody had raised fitness issues when Sri Lanka defeated India during a league game.