Sri Lanka have abandoned plans to take spinner Muttiah Muralitharan on the first leg of their New Zealand tour.

Muralitharan was to have travelled with the team as part of his rehabilitation from shoulder surgery but will instead need to prove his fitness before joining them.

Sri Lanka are scheduled to play a five-match one-day series starting on December 26 in New Zealand, followed by two Tests in January.

The selectors would like him to bowl under match conditions first and Muralitharan will aim to play in a Sri Lanka Cricket-organised practice match on December 27.

The off spinner resumed bowling last week after being given the all-clear from his Melbourne-based surgeon David Young, who was surprised at the speed of his recovery.

Young had operated on Muralitharan in August, draining a painful cyst that had built up around nerve joints in his right shoulder.

Muralitharan is bowling 24 balls every other day in the practice nets and will gradually increase his workload.

The 32-year-old remains optimistic about proving his fitness, at least in time for the Test series that starts on January 15 in Hamilton.

Muralitharan's first target will be the two-day practice game in Auckland scheduled for Jan 10.