Lasith Malinga: The veteran who is fading into oblivion

Fancy hairdo and an ever smiling face coupled with ruthless bowling is a paradox in itself. When it comes to death bowling, the first word that pops up in our head is Lasith Malinga. He is the man who single-handedly has revolutionized the perception of death bowling in the world.

Although cricket is considered as the batsman's game by many cricketing pundits, the pin-point yorkers of Malinga seemed to be the explicit answer to all of them. However, the Sri Lankan pacer seems to have lost his Midas touch with the increasing age and injuries.

Once the most feared death bowler in the world, he now seems to have past his best. The 34-year-old now struggles to even cement his place in the national team. He was been overlooked by the National selection committee for the T20Is against India, which wasn't even the first time Malinga has been omitted from the squad.

He was dropped from the squad for the ODI series against India and was instead playing in the Bangladesh Premier League. Since his return to the International cricket after recuperating from the injury he sustained way back in early 2016 just before the World T20, he has been a pale shadow of what he used to be.

The comeback of the Sri Lankan speedster has not been very auspicious, as he has clearly struggled to live up to the expectations he set for himself. Once regarded as the backbone of the bowling line-up, he has quickly turned into a liability. He has been leaking runs without much success. Additionally, the premier fast bowler’s pace has dropped considerably and has been struggling with injuries. Considering everything going around his career, the World T20-winning captain is now fading into oblivion.

The Sri Lankan team itself is struggling as it is in the stage of transition. They have not been able to perform consistently since the retirement of legends like Sangakkara, Jayawardene, and Dilshan. The team is looking for some inspiration from somewhere because of the lack of senior players in the team.

In this time of crisis, it is indeed disheartening to see a bowler of Malinga's calibre being in and out of the team and struggling to retain his spot. But now along with age and injuries not on his side, it is very difficult to expect Malinga to come back to his full strength again.