IPL 2022: "Felt I could use my experience and give back to the game"

Former Sri Lanka fast bowler Lasith Malinga is set to serve as the fast bowling coach of the Rajasthan Royals (RR) in the upcoming edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL 2022). The 38-year-old has expressed his excitement at joining the franchise for the season.

Malinga, the leading wicket-taker in the history of the IPL with 170 scalps, has been enjoying his new role with the inaugural champions. Speaking to PTI, he pointed out how RR have always had a formidable side and that he found it challenging to play against them in the tournament.

“It is certainly a new thing for me to get into coaching and pass on my experience to the younger players," he said. "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 first thing that always stayed with me was the colour – pink," he added. "I always saw the team had 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.”

The seasoned campaigner revealed that RR head coach Kumar Sangakkara had approached him ahead of the previous season. But at that time, he gave the offer a miss to stay with his family amid the pandemic. Malinga stated that he finally agreed to come on board this year after his stint with the Sri Lankan national side.

“It was actually last year that Kumar (Sangakkara) asked me if I was interested," he said. "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."

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Malinga served as Sri Lanka's bowling strategy coach for their T20I series in Australia earlier this year. It is worth mentioning that his role was a short-term one which came to an end after the completion of the series.

"Rajasthan Royals have a fantastic pace attack" - Lasith Malinga

The ex-Mumbai Indians player feels that with quality Indian pacers alongside proven overseas seamers, Rajasthan have managed to assemble a strong pace attack for IPL 2022.

“I think we have a fantastic pace attack," he said. "You’ve got experienced overseas players like (Trent) Boult and (Nathan) Coulter-Nile, with whom I’ve worked before. Then we’ve got genuine Indian fast bowlers in Prasidh (Krishna) and (Navdeep) 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."

Rajasthan Royals are scheduled to battle it out against Sunrisers Hyderabad in their opening clash of the season at the MCA Stadium in Pune on March 29.