Galle captain Sarfaraz pulls out, owners persuading hesitant Malinga to lead

By Bipin Dani

The Lanka Premier League (LPL) has suffered another withdrawal, with former Pakistan captain Sarfraz Ahmed pulling out of the tournament.

Ahmed was supposed to captain the Galle Gladiators franchise, but will now be unavailable because of commitments with the national team.

Moin Khan, the Galle franchise coach, speaking to Daily Mirror said, "Sarfaraz has been selected in the Pakistan squad for the New Zealand tour and hence he is not travelling (to Sri Lanka). Now we have to decide the new captain. Will sit with the team owner and the management and decide in a day or two."

Except for the Galle Gladiators team, the other four teams have reached Hambantota and entered into a bio-secure bubble.

"We are travelling to Sri Lanka from Karachi on 19th and will head straight to Hambantota", the coach further added.

Meanwhile, Sri Lanka’s T20 captain Lasith Malinga, is in two minds whether to play the LPL or not.

Though team coach Khan is not aware of this development, according to the different sources in Sri Lanka, Malinga has indicated a desire to pull out.

Team owner Nadeem Omar confirmed that they were in discussion with Malinga to convince him to lead the team. 

 "He has not been able to train for quite some time and is a little hesitant. We are persuading him to play. He is a celebrity and we don't want to miss him," he said. 

There has been enormous pressure on him to play and if he does, he will be the captain of the team.