Sri Lankan lads lust after a 'Malinga cut'

COLOMBO: A Sri Lankan stylist took two days to create Sri Lankan bowler Lasith Malinga's bleached-blond unkept hair that is attracting attention at the Cricket World Cup.   

Hair dresser Nishantha Jayasekera said Malinga wanted a new style each time he went on tour. So the locks were spruced up for the World Cup in the Caribbean.   

"Malinga has his own hair ideas and he is not afraid to try out anything new," said Jayasekera who runs the Le Paris salon in Panadura, 25 kilometres south of Colombo.   

The barber told the latest edition of the Rivira weekly newspaper he has so far tried out five different hair styles on the 23-year old paceman, but never expected his "light blond" creation to become an instant hit.   

"It took me two days to get the look," Jayasekera said.   

Malinga, who also sports a silver eyebrow ring, had flirted with the idea of a "mohawk" that would have shaved the sides leaving a thin strip of hair in the middle.   

Besides Malinga, Jayasekera also grooms spin bowler Tillakaratne Dilshan, Chamara Silva, Malinga Bandara and Hashan Tilakaratne.   

"Malinga likes to stand out, so he goes for unusual styles unlike the other well-known cricketers," Jayasekera said.   

Sri Lankans usually apply coconut oil on their hair to hold the hair in place instead of using more expensive gel.