Malinga announcing retirement in his private Youtube channel yesterday (14)[/caption]
By Revatha S. Silva
Records in ODI & T20I cricket
# Only bowler to take two four-wicket hauls in consecutive balls in international cricket (vs. South Africa in 2007 in an ODI and vs. New Zealand in 2019 in a T20I)
# First bowler to take 100 T20I wickets
# The first and, to date, the only bowler to take three hat-tricks in One-Day International cricket
Malinga made his Sri Lanka debut in July 2004 in Darwin, Australia in a Test[/caption]
Former Sri Lanka Captain and ace fast-bowler Lasith Malinga, 38, who had already retired from Tests in 2011 and One-Day International (ODI) cricket in 2019, announced that he is retiring from T20 cricket too, yesterday (14).
Whilst thanking Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) and each and every franchise that he had played in round the cricket world, including Mumbai Indians (MI) of the Indian Premier League (IPL), Malinga, who is considered the most talked-about and unusual slinging and low-arm fast-bowler in world cricket of our time, announced his retirement last afternoon on his personal Youtube channel, named ‘Ninety Nine’, his Sri Lanka jersey number.
He took 107 wickets at 20.79 for Sri Lanka in T20I cricket and 390 scalps in domestic and various T20 leagues round the world, at an average of 19.68. Malinga last played for Sri Lanka in March last year, against the West Indies in Pallekele.
Discussions with selectors
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Malinga's father S. Milton before their house down south. Photo ESPN Cricinfo[/caption]
Months ago, Malinga was having discussions with the National Selection Committee Head Pramodya Wickramasinghe sharing views on the future of his career.
There was an argument mooted within cricket circles that Malinga should be given an opportunity to retire from all cricket in one of the two back-to-back T20I World Cups that are coming up, firstly this year in UAE and Oman, and then next year in Australia.
But the newly-introduced fitness criteria to the national team were considered an insurmountable obstacle before his re-entry into the national side. On the other hand, Malinga too did not reportedly want to meet those criteria, asking “nobody asked me whether I was fit enough, when I took all those wickets.”
Sri Lanka announced her World Cup squad for next month’s tournament only two days ago on Sunday (12), sans Malinga.
Skipped all recent tournaments
From the selectors’ point of view, they also did not want to bend their new and stringent fitness yardstick to include a single player, how useful he could have been.
Malinga skipped the IPL and the Lanka Premier League (LPL) last year and did not take part in any of the shortest-format series for Sri Lanka since the outbreak of the pandemic in March 2020.
He had not reportedly begun his training since last year, too.
Led Sri Lanka to World Cup win
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Winning the T20 World Cup in 2014 beating strong India in the final in Dhaka was a defining moment in Malinga's 17-year international career[/caption]
The various overseas franchise leagues Malinga played in included: Kent in the England County Championship, MI in the IPL, Guyana Amazon Warriors, Jamaica Tallawahs, and St. Lucia Zouks in the Caribbean Premier League (CPL), Khulna Titans and Rangpur Riders of the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL), Maratha Arabians of the Abu Dhabi T10 League, Melbourne Stars of Australia’s Big Bash League (BPL), and Montreal Tigers at Global T20 Canada.
He led Sri Lanka in the 2014 International Cricket Council (ICC) T20 World Cup final in Bangladesh after the regular Lankan Skipper of the tournament, Dinesh Chandimal, got a match ban from the organisers of the event. Sri Lanka beat India in that final to win their only T20 World Cup.
Fashions and criticisms
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His hairstyle, tattoos, and eyebrow piercings, though sparking criticism from the old-school, made him to be Sri Lanka's biggest sporting icon in the world stage[/caption]
Malinga was renowned for his toe-crushing, in-dipping Yorkers and deceptive slow bowls, which are only a handful of many unusual yet brilliant weapons in his bowling armoury.
He had struggled with a persistent leg injury throughout his playing career and after his 2019 farewell ODI match in Colombo’s R. Premadasa, he acknowledged Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa for helping him make a comeback in the international stage by recovering from his injury, through treatments received from Rajapaksa’s personal physician Eliyantha White.
Meanwhile his different hairstyles, tattoos, and eyebrow piercings sparked criticism from the old-school cricket observers, including World Cup-winning legend Arjuna Ranatunga. But his ‘goldilocked-hairstyle’ had become an overwhelming craze right round the cricket world as fans used to wear wigs that emulated Malinga’s hair in almost all cricket venues in the world.
A great void
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Separamadu Lasith Malinga retires leaving a host of eternal memories for the Sri Lankan cricket fans, out of which the best would always be his “four-in-four” against the Proteas in Guyana in the 2007 World Cup[/caption]
His overwhelming commitment to various money-oriented and betting-plagued franchise leagues and his playing a part in various divisive manoeuvrings within the Sri Lanka national ranks could have tarnished his reputation and integrity to a certain extent but with yesterday’s announcement comes to an end one of the most remarkable yet truly Sri Lankan cricketing stories of our time.
There will hardly be any other Sri Lankan cricketer who can single-handedly win matches for the country and also who can win hearts and minds of worldwide audiences, like a pin-up star could do, while performing an on-filed magic.
He retires leaving a host of eternal memories for the Sri Lankan cricket fans, out of which the highest will always be his “four-in-four” against the Proteas in Providence, Guyana, in the 2007 World Cup - a feat which turned everyone's eyes on him. Since then the entire cricket world looked in aghast as 'Slinga Malinga' prospered by the day.
‘Thank. You. Malinga,’ says MI
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From crushing batsmen’s toes to getting lifted on shoulders, Mali achieved everything in T20s, says IPL franchise Mumbai Indians[/caption]
The news of his retirement was essentially noteworthy for India yesterday. Malinga is an IPL legend and the annual league’s most successful bowler, with 170 wickets for MI.
He won four IPL trophies, in 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019, and two Champions League T20 titles, in 2011 and 2013 for MI, giving the cricket-crazy nation too long-lasting memories.
“From crushing batsmen’s toes to getting lifted on shoulders, Mali achieved everything in T20s. As he announces his retirement from T20 cricket, we just have three words to say - Thank. You. Malinga,” MI posted instantly last afternoon on Instagram reacting to 'Mali''s retirement, now from all cricket.
He says in the said Youtube video yesterday that he will continue to be sharing his knowledge with the youngsters of the game, which he will continue to love.The Morning Sports wishes the iconic and truly world-class champion cricketer all the very best for his post retirement life!
The entire cricket world will sadly miss that magnificent celebration after a yorker bowled, and then that resounding roars that filled the stadia across the world... "Mali...Mali...Mali" How long will Sri Lanka have to wait till her next confident, unusual, brilliant, and world-beating star is born?