Lasith Malinga shocked the Cricket fans with the heartbreaking news that he will be retiring from all sorts of cricket. He posted the message on his social media account on 14th September. On top of that, he made a video compiling all his wickets from T20 matches and posted it on YouTube with the caption, “While my shoes will rest my love for the game will never rest.”
Hanging up my #T20 shoes and #retiring from all forms of cricket! Thankful to all those who supported me in my journey, and looking forward to sharing my experience with young cricketers in the years to come.https://t.co/JgGWhETRwm #LasithMalinga #Ninety9
— Lasith Malinga (@ninety9sl) September 14, 2021
Malinga’s Cricket Journey So Far
One of the fastest right-handed bowlers in the history of Cricket, Malinga didn’t only have a distinctive bowling style but also had a destructive throw. He is the only bowler in the world who has claimed four wickets in four balls consecutively. With this fantastic performance, he took the Sri Lankan team to the edge of victory against the South African team in the 2007 World Cup.
From 2007-2014, Malinga established himself as the most crucial player in the Sri Lankan cricket team, and he ensured his country an excellent run in the global cricket tournaments too for all those years. However, he never really got to realize his full potential in the test matches. He even retired from all forms of test cricket in 2011 because of a knee injury.
His unique bowling action also got the star athlete a place in the ‘Mumbai Indians’ team for the IPL matches. Here also, he became one of the most prominent names in the team and the entire IPL session. But, looks like it is his fast-paced bowling that ultimately made the cricketer retire from IPL too. He faced immense pressure on his hip joints, and legs due to which he finally retired from T20 cricket too.
Some Iconic Moments To Look Back
Malinga was chosen in the Sri Lankan cricket team initially for his fast pace. But even when the other batsmen knew what was coming towards them, the star athlete never failed to surprise them. In his 2004 tour with Sri Lanka, he made his test debut, where he claimed 6 for 90 in a tour match.
Even on the opening day of the first test match of the series, when Sri Lanka and Australia clashed, Malinga gave a top-notch performance. He managed to dismiss Adam Gilchrist and Darren Lehmann in the same over, which brought colossal shame on Australians.
If this is something you consider impressive, wait till we tell you about the time in 2005 when Malinga startled the New Zealand cricketers. He used a low-slung action in his bowling technique that forced the NZ batsman to ask the umpire to change their trouser colors. So, you can imagine how fast his throws were because the ball was supposedly getting lost in front of their eyes.
Besides his legendary performance in the 2007 World Cup, he made two more hat-tricks against Australia and Kenya in ODI cricket.
Final Words
This 38-year old cricketer stepped down from the position of T20 captain in 2016, and most of his retirement decisions are due to his poor physical condition. With a chronic knee injury and a long-standing ankle issue, the cricketer became significantly slower in his performance. However, as he announces his retirement from all forms of cricket, we hope he will still be attached to the game as he was before.
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