“You smiled, you bowled, you won” - Mumbai Indians pay heart-warming tribute to Lasith Malinga

A day after Mumbai Indians (MI) confirmed Lasith Malinga’s retirement from franchise cricket, the IPL’s most successful team paid glowing tributes to the superstar bowler.

On their official Instagram handle, Mumbai Indians posted a touching video that captured Lasith Malinga’s journey from his early days with MI to his transformation into the T20 league’s most successful bowler.

With the stirring ‘See You Again’ playing in the backdrop, Mumbai Indians also posted an emotional message with the video. MI wrote:

“Malinga is staring down. He lifts his hand up and kisses the ball. Wankhede is echoing with MA-LIN-GA MA-LIN-GA as he picks up momentum in his run up. He slings and bowls. The ball moves, dips and finds the base of the stump through the batsman’s defence.”

Check out the full post below:

Why Lasith Malinga announced his retirement

On Wednesday, Mumbai Indians confirmed that Lasith Malinga had informed them of his decision to retire from franchise cricket earlier this month.

Mumbai Indians quoted Lasith Malinga as saying:

“After discussing with family, I think now is the right time to retire from all franchise cricket.”

Lasith Malinga explained that the pandemic situation and the restrictions on travel would make it difficult for him to fully participate in franchise cricket for the next year. He continued:

“I have discussed the same with the 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"

Lasith Malinga finishes his IPL career as the T20 league’s most successful bowler. In 122 matches, the Sri Lankan legend picked up 170 wickets at a strike rate of 16.62 and an economy rate of 7.14, which features six four-wicket hauls and one five-wicket haul.

Lasith Malinga was part of four IPL title triumphs with Mumbai Indians - 2013, 2015, 2017 and 2019. He, however, missed out on the 2020 victory as he pulled out of the tournament, citing personal reasons.

The one who took the wicket of Don Shardul Thakur in the final.Thank you Lasith Malinga for so many more toe crushed memories like these.So many cherished memories with that infectious smile💙 #ThankYouMalinga pic.twitter.com/ePrC6MHodh

— 🄿 (@CricketGirl_45) January 20, 2021

The fast bowler’s last ball in the IPL is, therefore, the famous slow yorker he bowled to trap Shardul Thakur lbw in the 2019 final and lift Mumbai Indians to a record fourth title triumph.