Lasith Malinga Reveals How He Ended Up At Rajasthan Royals For IPL 2022

IPL legend Lasith Malinga joined Rajasthan Royals as bowling coach for IPL 2022.

Former Sri Lankan captain Lasith Malinga said that his job is to guide Rajasthan Royals' bowlers to deliver their best in the coming season of the Indian Premier League (IPL).

Reacting to joining the Royals as a bowling coach, Malinga said, "It is certainly a new thing for me to get into coaching and pass on my experience to the younger players. I have played this role before with Mumbai, and now I'm delighted to be working with Rajasthan Royals. It is a new place for me, but I'm enjoying my role so far working with such a talented group of bowlers."

The 38-year-old, who is the highest wicket-taker in the IPL, has started working with the Royals' pace attack The Sri Lankan legend also spoke about the Royals' new pace attack.

"I think we have a fantastic pace attack. You've got experienced overseas players like Boult and Coulter-Nile, with whom I've worked before. Then we've got genuine Indian fast bowlers in Prasidh and Saini, who have proven themselves at the highest level, and some new faces in Anunay Singh, Kuldeep Sen and Kuldip Yadav. In T20 cricket, I think little margins really matter, and I'm here to guide them to deliver their best in all situations," stated Malinga.

Asked what his thoughts were about his new franchise, he said, "The first thing that always stayed with me was the colour -- pink. I always saw the team have good international and local players, and whenever I used to face them, it was tough. I think they were always very competitive, and could beat any team on their day."

Having been associated with Mumbai for 13 seasons, he also recalled how the move to Royals came about.

"It was actually last year that Kumar (Sangakkara) asked me if I was interested. But with Covid and all the bubble restrictions, I didn't want to stay away from my family. But this year, having also worked with the Sri Lankan team, I felt I could use my experience and give back to the game that I love, by working with this group of players," expressed IPL's highest wicket-taker.