There’s a new twist to Lasith Malinga’s participation in the ongoing season of the Indian Premier League (IPL). The veteran Sri Lankan pacer, who was cleared last week by Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) to play the entire tournament for the Mumbai Indians (MI), will be heading home on Wednesday to feature in the domestic Super Provincial One Day Tournament.

The four-team event, scheduled for April 4-11, is supposed to serve as Sri Lanka’s World Cup trials and Malinga will be leading the Galle team. As per the quotes in Sportstar, Sri Lanka’s chief national selector Ashantha de Mel said, “Yes, he (Malinga) will be reaching Sri Lanka tomorrow and will be available for the provincial tournament.”

WATCH – Umpire Missed The Crucial No-ball Of Lasith Malinga

At the beginning of the IPL, it was announced that Malinga will not be available for the first six matches for the Mumbai Indians to play the Sri Lanka tournament. Last week, after a meeting with the pacer in Colombo, the SLC allowed the pacer to feature in the IPL, stating that the “level of competition would be higher and help him prepare better for the big event.”

Acknowledging the same, Mel said that it was Malinga who changed his mind. He said, “He wanted to play the provincial tournament. Last week, we had agreed to release him for the entire IPL, but now he wants to play in this tournament.”

Though the SLC remained silent regarding the issue, it is believed that Malinga wants to participate in the domestic competition as he has an eye on the Sri Lankan captaincy leading into the World Cup. Also, he won’t be featuring in the game against the Chennai Super Kings which is set to be played on Wednesday.