Sri Lankan player Lasith Malinga officially retires from franchise cricket, as confirmed by Mumbai Indians, his IPL team.
IPL franchise Mumbai Indians confirmed that Lasith Malinga has already informed them about his plans of retirement earlier this month. That was the reason why he was unavailable and unincluded in the squad lineup. Just yesterday, Malinga’s retirement was made public.
Talking about the decision he made, the 37-year-old player said, ‘After discussing with family, I think now is the right time to retire from all franchise cricket. The pandemic situation and the restrictions on travel will make it difficult for me given my personal circumstances to participate fully in franchise cricket for the next year and therefore it is best to make this decision now’.
‘I have discussed the same with Mumbai Indians management in recent days as they prepare for the upcoming auction and they have been very supportive and understanding. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Ambani family, everyone at the Mumbai Indians franchise and all our fans for the wonderful 12 years’, he added.
The Sri Lankan player also said that the Mumbai Indians treated him like family by always being supportive of him, on and off-field. He also said that he is very grateful to have been a part of the team where he had been able to collect a lot of happy memories that we would always cherish. He also wished them well for the upcoming season.
Malinga has been a part of the Mumbai Indians since the second season of the Indian Premier League (IPL). So far, he only missed out two editions of the league -- specifically 2018 and 2020. However, it was in 2018 that he worked as the team’s bowling mentor. Then, in 2019, he came back, played for the team, and helped them achieve the title. That win was the fourth one that he had shared with the team.
Although he may have missed out in the 2020 season due to personal reasons, Malinga remains to be the highest wicket-taker in the tournament. So far, his record of 170 scalps in 122 appearances remains unbeaten. To learn more about the Mumbai Indians and the other teams of the IPL, check out Betwala.
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