Former Sri Lanka fast bowler Lasith Malinga has been appointed as the country’s bowling strategy coach for the ODIs and T20s against Australia at home which begins on June 7. Sri Lanka will host Australia for three T20s, five ODIs and three Tests. (More Cricket News)
“Malinga, during the tour, will support Sri Lanka's bowlers, providing tactical insight and technical expertise to help the on-field execution of strategic plans,” Sri Lanka Cricket said via a press release. This is not the first time Malinga had held a similar position in the setup.
Earlier, Malinga worked in the same position when Sri Lanka visited Australia this year. Although the island nation lost the five-match T20 series 1-4, the bowlers put up an impressive show.
“Sri Lanka Cricket is confident that Malinga's vast experience and renowned death-bowling expertise, especially in the T20 format, will help the team immensely going into this all-important series,” the release added.
One of the greatest of the game, Lasith Malinga retired from all forms of cricket in 2021. Malinga, with 107 T20 wickets is second on the list of all-time highest wicket-takers behind Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan.
Malinga had served as a bowling mentor for five-time Indian Premier League champions Mumbai Indians in 2018 and was a part of the Rajasthan Royals backroom staff in IPL 2022, playing a crucial role in their journey to the final. In the final, Rajasthan Royals lost to Gujarat Titans last month.
Even New Zealand pacer Trent Boult, who was one of the leading pacers for the Rajasthan Royals in IPL 2022, praised Malinga for simplifying the art of T20 bowling.
Meanwhile, Matheesha Pathirana, who impressed at Chennai Super Kings in IPL 2022 has been rewarded with his maiden Sri Lanka call-up for the Australia series. The 19-year-old played only three games but his unorthodox action turned a lot of heads.
There was no place for all-rounder Dhananajaya de Silva or wicketkeeper batters Dinesh Chandimal and Niroshan Dickwella, all of whom played crucial roles in the Test series win over Bangladesh last month.
