Is Lasith Malinga's Career Over? Lankan to Miss Caribbean Premier League Too

Lasith Malinga's career in twenty20 cricket is under threat. The Sri Lankan pacer, known for slinging action and toe-crushers, will continue to miss tournaments due to a serious knee injury.

After being ruled out of the Indian Premier League - Mumbai Indians replaced Malinga with West Indian Jerome Taylor - the 32-year-old will now miss the upcoming Caribbean Premier League.

NDTV cricket expert Dean Jones said Malinga's career was on the edge and it would be difficult for him to return to international cricket.  

The Jamaica Tallawahs have moved quickly to replace the injured Malinga with South Africa's Dale Steyn. This will be Steyn's maiden CPL season.

A former number-one ranked Test bowler, the 32-year-old Steyn has claimed 58 wickets, with an economy rate of 6.71, which is a fraction above (6.68 runs per over) overall career figures in 20-over cricket where he has taken 178 wickets in 165 games to date.

Malinga, who also featured in the Guyana Amazon Warriors attack in 2013, is awaiting further tests on a knee injury sustained during the West Indies series back in November 2015. Despite featuring briefly in the Asia Cup, he has been unavailable since then and missed out on the ICC World T20 2016.

The CPL is one of the strongest Twenty20 leagues in the world game and it's a tournament that's on the rise. There are some outstanding world-class players signed up across all six teams.

"I'm looking forward to playing against some of my great friends and team-mates, amongst them Hashim Amla, AB (de Villiers), Faf (du Plessis), David Miller and Morne (Morkel) this summer. It will certainly add a nice bit of spice to the mix," Steyn said.