Lasith Malinga announces T20 retirement

Sri Lanka’s legendary fast bowler Lasith Malinga has decided to hang his boots from the T20I cricket. Malinga had already retired from Test cricket back in 2011 whereas he called it a day from ODIs in 2019.

The fast bowler had a glorious T20 career as he scalped a total of 395 wickets in 290 matches.

The pacer had announced his retirement from franchise cricket after he was being released by Mumbai Indians in January.

The fast bowler finished with impressive figures as he had a strike rate of 16.60, an economy of 7.07, and an average of 19.68 in the shortest format of the game.

Malinga, well known for his accurate yorkers, had turned many matches for Sri Lanka with his death bowling. Furthermore, Malinga had become the first bowler to complete 100 wickets in the T20I format. Malinga finishes his career with 107 scalps and ends as the fourth-highest wicket-taker in the T20I format after Dwayne Bravo, Imran Tahir, and Sunil Narine.

“Today is a very special day for me. I want to thank each one of you who has supported me throughout my T20 career. Today I have decided to give 100 percent rest to my T20 bowling shoes,” he said.

“I want to thank Sri Lanka cricket board, Mumbai Indians, Melbourne Stars, Kent Cricket Club, Rangpur Riders, Guyana Warriors, Maratha Warriors, and Montreal Tigers. I now want to share my experience with young cricketers who want to play franchise cricket and for their national team.

“While my shoes rest, my love for the game will never ask for rest. Looking forward to seeing our youngsters make history.”

Meanwhile, Lasith Malinga had also led Sri Lanka to glory in the 2014 T20 World Cup as they had beaten India in the final. Moreover, Malinga was part of four of Mumbai Indians’ five titles in the IPL.