(Cricket news) As a kid every cricket fan has tried the Malinga action, with his coloured afro hair, piercings, tattoos and his unique action soon transcended him to instant stardom. The man from Galle created a gravitational pull, sucking in fans all over the world to see his slinging yokers and becoming an instant fan favourite in whichever franchise he played. Nicknamed ‘Slinga Malinga’ not only revolutionized Sri Lanka cricket but also changed the perception of T20 death bowling. Malinga used to play on the beach near his village and his unique action was spotted by Champaka Ramanayake, who invited him to join the Galle Cricket club; since then Malinga just grew in stature and went on to become Sri Lanka's greatest fast bowler.
Malinga at the age of 38 has finally decided to hang his boots not before creating numerous records which will probably not be broken in this generation at least. Malinga debuted in 2004 against the mighty Australians and although the Sri Lankans lost, they found a hidden gem in Malinga as he picked 5 wickets in the Test match. He was so impressive that even Adam Gilchrist gifted him one of the match stumps as a token of appreciation. Although Malinga’s test career didn’t last long, he still managed to pick up 101 wickets in 30 matches for Sri Lanka. Malinga retired early from the Test format to focus more on white ball cricket, which he did quite effortlessly as he was one of the key architects to make Sri Lanka reach two World Cup finals in 2007 and 2011. Malinga in 2019 became the fastest cricketer to claim 50 wickets in World Cup history, he ultimately finished his ODI career with 338 wickets in 226 matches.
Malinga’s greatest achievements came in the shortest form of game as he was not only the deadliest bowler in T20s but the fact that he could make you win matches from impossible situations through his immaculate death bowling made him a legend of the game. Malinga had captained his side to the 2014 T20 World Cup in Dhaka, a landmark in Sri Lankan history as it was their first major trophy after missing out in the 50 over World Cups. Lasith Malinga signs off as the highest wicket taker in T20 internationals with 107 wickets and has taken 390 wickets in 295 matches in all the T20s he has played. Lasith Malinga became an IPL legend, he helped Mumbian Indians to two titles in the process as he picked up 195 wickets at an economy rate of 7.82 in the death overs. He bowled 152 overs at the death of an IPL match and conceded only 1196 runs while claiming 90 wickets, a record surely no one even comes close to beating it.
It has not always been a smooth sail for the Sri Lankan pacer, his action was always scrutinised by experts and opposition as they thought that he used to chuck the bowl. ICC initially used to always call him out for his action but according to ICC rule an illegal action is only when a bowler extends or straightens the elbow more than 15 degrees while releasing the bowl. Lasith Malinga’s action was termed as roundarm which never really breached the 15 degree rule compared to the likes of Sunil Narine and Saeed Ajmal.
Also read: Slinger Malinga announces retirement from all forms of cricket
The Indian fans should also be thankful to the toe crusher as he has basically groomed Jasprit Bumrah into the world class bowler that he is. Jasprit came into the Mumbai Indians setup as a youngster when Malinga was the lead bowler but by the time he left, Malinga handed over the battalion to him, teaching him all the crafts he had in his arsenal. Malinga will surely be a name that will echo for decades in cricket but one thing is certain, that no matter how hard we try, no one creates the impact he has had on the game, especially in the shortest format of the game.
