Veteran Sri Lankan pace bowler Lasith Malinga had announced that the first game of the three-match series against Bangladesh would be his farewell ODI game.
Malinga was named in the 22-man Sri Lanka squad for the series, with matches scheduled for July 26, 28 and 31.
However, speaking at the press conference in the Sri Lankan capital, captain Dimuth Karunaratne confirmed that the fast bowler and former captain would only appear in the first ODI.
Malinga will leave as Sri Lanka’s third-highest wicket-taker in ODIs with 335 scalps in 219 innings so far. Only Muttiah Muralitharan and Chaminda Vaas have taken more.
He was Sri Lanka’s highest wicket-taker at the World Cup, claiming 13 scalps in seven innings.
Malinga retired from Test cricket in 2011, but continued to play in other formats.
Malinga made his ODI debut in 2004, against the UAE in Dambulla. He is the only player to take four wickets in four balls in ODIs, during a World Cup match against South Africa at Guyana in 2007. Malinga has two more hat-tricks, against Kenya and Australia, both in 2011. No other bowler has claimed as many hat-tricks (3) as he has.
