Mumbai Indians rope in Malinga as bowling coach for 2024 season

MUMBAI: Mumbai Indians have announced Sri Lankan fast-bowling legend Lasith Malinga as their new bowling coach ahead of IPL 2024 season. Malinga will be replacing Shane Bond, who held the position in the side since 2015 till he stepped down earlier this week.

Malinga, who was previously the bowling coach of IPL side Rajasthan Royals for 2022 and 2023 seasons, joins the Mumbai Indians coaching team led by Mark Boucher, and his former team-mate, Kieron Pollard, who is serving as bating coach.

The Sri Lankan was the bowling coach of the MI New York franchise which won the inaugural MLC title earlier this year, and will be involved with MI Cape Town in SA20 from its 2024 season.

“It is truly an honour for me to be appointed Bowling Coach of Mumbai Indians and my journey in the #Onefamily continues, following MI New York and MI Cape Town. I am looking forward to working closely with Mark, Polly, Rohit and the rest of the team, especially the bowling unit, whose approach I loved last season, and the young MI talent that has the potential to excel, backed by the passionate MI Paltan,” said Malinga in a statement issued by the franchise.

As an IPL player, Malinga won four IPL titles with Mumbai in 2013, 2015, 2017 and 2019, apart from the Champions League T20 trophy in 2011. Overall, Malinga played 139 games for Mumbai, picking 195 wickets at an economy rate of 7.12.

170 of those scalps of Malinga came in the IPL, which is the joint-sixth-highest wickets taken by a bowler in the tournament’s history. Malinga had also served as the side’s mentor in 2018, apart from 11 years as a Mumbai player, before retiring in 2021. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest limited overs bowlers of all time. Playing as a right-arm fast bowler, Malinga was commonly used as a specialist death bowler, and captained the Sri Lanka national cricket team to the 2014 T20 World Cup title.

He was nicknamed “Slinga Malinga” due to his distinctive round-arm action, sometimes referred to as a sling action. Malinga announced his retirement from all forms of cricket on Sept.14, 2021 and migrated to Melbourne.

Malinga’s unorthodox action and dipping slower ball yorkers are credited with much of his success. He changed the dynamics and landscape of death bowling in limited overs cricket through his technique and approach.