Malinga censured by SLC

Lasith Malinga will be censured by Sri Lanka Cricket for his behavior towards the media covering last weekend's contracts dispute outside the SLC offices. Earlier in the week, SLC's executive committee had Malinga's actions reviewed in an inquiry conducted by CEO Ajit Jayasekara, who recommended the fast bowler's punishment.

"Mr Ajit Jayasekera, CEO SLC, conducted an inquiry on the Lasith Malinga incident and in his report to the Executive Committee, recommended that Malinga be censured and advised on his behaviour when dealing with the press in the future, considering his standing in the game," a release said.

"The executive committee accepted his recommendations and appointed committee members Camillus Abeygunawardena, Harigupta Rihanadeera, Ajit Jayasekera to speak to Lasith Malinga on this matter."

Malinga had responded gruffly toward television journalists who waited outside SLC in two separate incidents, which occurred on Sunday night and Monday morning. On the first occasion he denied he had come to the SLC offices for a meeting about the contracts dispute in a dismissive tone, before telling a journalist to mind his own business the following morning.

Malinga has had a strained relationship with parts of the nation's media after he announced his retirement from Test cricket during the 2011 IPL, which came after he had made himself unavailable for the Test tour of England citing fitness problems. He has often been accused of being a mercenary by some, and has lately hit back at those claims, including in an on-air argument with a journalist on a local sports talk show.