INDIAN PREMIER LEAGUE, 2017

Malinga, Gunaratne to miss MI's IPL 2017 opener

by Cricbuzz Staff • Last updated on

Lasith Malinga will miss Mumbai's opening game against Pune © Getty

Mumbai Indians pacer Lasith Malinga will miss his team's opening IPL 2017 game against Rising Pune Supergiant due to national duties, according to a TOI report on Saturday (April 1).

Malinga's Sri Lanka team-mate Asela Gunaratne, another member of the MI setup, will also miss the opener with Sri Lanka facing Bangladesh in a two-match Twenty20 International series that concludes on April 6, the same day when Mumbai face RPS.

Malinga, who had missed the previous edition of the IPL due to a knee injury, did not play competitive cricket for close to a year before returning to the Sri Lankan T20I team for the series against Australia in February this year. The 33-year-old, a vital cog for the MI team, is IPL's leading wicket-taker with 143 wickets in 98 matches at an average of 17.8.

Gunaratne, the 31-year-old all-rounder, was picked up by MI during the auction in February on the back of some excellent performances for Sri Lanka in the limited-overs format. Gunaratne has a batting average of 42, having played seven T20Is so far with two half-centuries.

Meanwhile, in what was positive news for Mumbai, the BCCI medical team declared both Rohit Sharma and Hardik Pandya fit to play competitive cricket, having recovered from their injuries.

Following a thigh surgery that kept him off action for more than four months, Rohit was recently ruled out of the Deodhar Trophy with a minor knee injury.

Pandya, who had suffered a hairline fracture on his right shoulder in November 2016, featured in the limited-overs series against England earlier this year while he also played a few List-A matches for Baroda in the Vijay Hazare Trophy in February.

Mumbai Indians will also have the services of West Indian pair of Kieron Pollard and Lendl Simmons on time as the duo, currently on national duty in the T20I series against Pakistan at home, is expected to join up with the team in Pune on April 5. Mumbai open their IPL campaign against Rising Pune Supergiant on April 6.

© Cricbuzz

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