Sri Lanka pacer Lasith Malinga on Tuesday announced his retirement from all forms of cricket after terrorising the world’s best batsmen for over a decade and a half with his toe-crushing yorkers.
“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,” the 38-year-old pacer tweeted.
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
He also shared a video that had a montage of some of his special moments on the field and a message thanking all the teams he played for and his teammates. “While my shoes will rest my love for the game will never rest,” he titled the video.
Malinga played 30 Test matches, 226 ODIs and 84 T20Is for Sri Lanka, picking up 546 wickets. He last played a T20I match for Sri Lanka in March 2020 against West Indies in Pallekele.
Recognised almost as much for his blonde-tipped curls, as his unique round-arm action, Malinga claimed 107 T20 international wickets, and maintained an economy rate of 7.42 across 83 bowling innings.
Although his fast, swinging yorker was his primary weapon right through his T20 career, he also developed a well-disguised slower-ball, a slower bouncer, and was among the first and most successful bowlers to use wide yorkers at the death.
In a glorious international career, Malinga experienced some incredible highs representing the Sri Lankan national team. Malinga led his side to glory in the 2014 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in Bangladesh.
Malinga also picked up three hat-tricks in ODI cricket, with his performance against South Africa in the 2007 World Cup in West Indies etched in history. Malinga retired from Test cricket in 2011, to work on his fitness and concentrate on the shorter formats of the game.
