Breaking! Lasith Malinga joins Rajasthan as fast bowling coach

In the latest developments, veteran Sri Lanka pacer Lasith Malinga has joined Rajasthan's support staff ahead of the Indian T20 League 2022. Rajasthan has signed Malinga as their fast bowling coach for the 2022 season. The veteran Sri Lankan has been a legend of the tournament.

Malinga played for Mumbai in his entire Indian T20 League career and was an integral part of the set-up. He led the team to many memorable wins over the years. The veteran still holds the record for the most number of wickets in the tournament's history.  

This surprising announcement was made by Rajasthan via their official Twitter handle. The team's official social media handles posted the sketch of the veteran fast bowler in the Rajasthan training kit. "*𝐤𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐚𝐥𝐥* Lasith Malinga. IPL. Pink," read the caption.

Here is the tweet:

*𝐤𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐚𝐥𝐥*

Lasith Malinga. IPL. Pink. 💗#RoyalsFamily | #TATAIPL2022 | @ninety9sl pic.twitter.com/p6lS3PtlI3

— Rajasthan Royals (@rajasthanroyals) March 11, 2022

An hour before making the announcement, Rajasthan teased the fans with what was about to come. They posted a photo of Riyan Parag with Lasith Malinga's iconic hairstyle. Notably, Parag is known to have similar side-arm bowling action like Lasith Malinga. "No context spoiler," the caption of the post said.

No context spoiler pic.twitter.com/bSx6U1FuLb

— Rajasthan Royals (@rajasthanroyals) March 11, 2022

Meanwhile, the 38-year old has done extremely well with the youngsters. Even as a player, Malinga always supported his fellow bowlers. Jasprit Bumrah is a prime example of that. This time, he has some good quality fast bowlers to train. Players like Prasidh Krishna and Navdeep Saini will have some great opportunities to learn from the greatest of all time.

“It’s a wonderful feeling for me to return to the ITL and an absolute honour to join Rajasthan, a franchise that has always promoted and developed young talent. I am excited by the pace bowling unit we have going into the tournament and looking forward to supporting all the fast bowlers with the execution of their game-plans and their overall development. I’ve made some very special memories in the ITL with Mumbai and now with Royals, looking forward to new experiences and creating great memories in this journey," said Lasith Malinga on his appointment as Rajasthan's fast bowling coach, as quoted by Sports Tiger.