I can still play 2 hours in the ground...I stay home because I can't pass the two-kilometer fitness test - Lasith Malinga

 

Lasith Malinga, Sri Lanka's fast bowler and former T20I captain, says he can still bowl for two consecutive hours and can take all 24 wickets in a Twenty20 match, but is at home as he cannot pass the two-kilometer fitness test.  Malinga made the remarks in association with 'Chill with Russell', a program run by former Sri Lankan cricketer Russell Arnold.

Lasith Malinga, who has not been included in the Sri Lanka Twenty20 squad, said this while commenting on his fitness. Malinga further commented that one fitness test comes from time to time. Now there's the two-kilometer test. They say that it is imperative to know how to shape the players. I can still bowl for about 2 hours straight. If it is a Twenty20 match, you can bowl 24 balls straight to the wicket. But since the two-kilometer test is not possible, I stay at home without bothering anyone. ''

"In 2019 at Pallekele, I took four wickets in four balls against New Zealand. Nobody said Malinga was overweight, so we don't count these four wickets. We don't want to win this match. That we don't even have the record. Nobody said that. Yasa applauded and accepted. I give a challenge to anyone. I throw 24 balls. Not a single player will be allowed to cross the 30-yard line, ”he said.

Malinga spoke about the difference between the previous fitness test and the current fitness test and the selection committee's view on his fitness. ”After the 2017 Champions Trophy, Coole and I had a test to test. Someone else missed the catch on a ball I threw and said my belly was over. Then it was not the person who missed the catch who told me what was wrong with the ball. Then we brought in about 40 players and had a test. Then I looked at who was running 20 meters faster. Kula was then about 36 years old, and I was about 35 years old. But Kule was the first in that test. The oldest of the 40 former members of the caste. I was the second. Nowadays, when doing a fitness test, the athlete tells the media first. But in those days no one knew this. We were not even allowed to post our fitness result on Facebook. Since then, the 20-meter aptitude test has been discontinued. ''

However, Lasith Malinga, now 38, has played 84 international Twenty20 matches for Sri Lanka and has taken 107 wickets.