Lasith Malinga facts for kids
Malinga at the Sydney Cricket Ground in October 2010
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| Full name |
Separamadu Lasith Malinga
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| Born | 28 August 1983 Galle, Sri Lanka |
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| Batting | Right-handed | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bowling | Right-arm fast | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Role | Bowler | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| International information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| National side |
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| Test debut (cap 99) | 1 July 2004 v Australia | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Last Test | 3 August 2010 v India | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ODI debut (cap 123) | 17 July 2004 v UAE | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Last ODI | 26 July 2019 v Bangladesh | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ODI shirt no. | 99 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| T20I debut (cap 8) | 15 June 2006 v England | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Last T20I | 6 March 2020 v West Indies | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| T20I shirt no. | 99 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Domestic team information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2001–2004 | Galle | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2004–2021 | Nondescripts | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2007 | Kent | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2008–2017; 2019–2020 | Mumbai Indians | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2010–2011 | Basnahira | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2012 | Ruhuna Royals | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2012–2014 | Melbourne Stars | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2013 | Dhaka Gladiators | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2013 | Guyana Amazon Warriors | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2014 | Southern Express | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2017 | Rangpur Riders | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2019 | Khulna Titans | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Career statistics | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Medal record
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Source: ESPNcricinfo, 6 March 2020
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Lasith Malinga (born 28 August 1983) is a famous former cricketer from Sri Lanka. Many people think he is one of the best bowlers ever in shorter cricket games. He was a right-arm fast bowler known for his unique style.
Malinga was often used as a special bowler at the end of games. He even led the Sri Lanka national cricket team to win the 2014 T20 World Cup. People called him "Slinga Malinga" because of his special round-arm way of bowling. He stopped playing all forms of cricket on 14 September 2021.
His unusual bowling action and tricky slower balls helped him succeed a lot. He changed how bowlers played at the end of limited overs matches. Malinga was great at taking wickets very quickly. He is the only bowler with two hat-tricks in World Cups. He is also the only bowler to take 4 wickets in 4 balls twice in international cricket. He has taken three hat-tricks in One Day Internationals (ODIs). He is the first bowler to take five hat-tricks across all international cricket games.
On 22 April 2011, he decided to stop playing Test cricket. This was to focus on ODI and T20 cricket. The ICC also made him an ambassador for the World Twenty20 Championships. On 26 July 2019, he retired from One Day International cricket. This was after the first ODI match against Bangladesh.
In September 2019, Malinga made history against New Zealand. He became the first bowler to take 100 wickets in Twenty20 International cricket. He also took a hat-trick in that series. This made him the first bowler to have two T20I hat-tricks. He even took four wickets in four balls in one over. This was only the second time this happened in T20I history.
In January 2021, he stopped playing T20 franchise cricket. Then, in September 2021, Malinga announced he was retiring from all cricket.
Contents
Early Life and Discovery
Malinga grew up in a simple home in Rathgama. This is a village near the coast, about 12 km from Galle. He often played cricket with his friends on sand banks and in coconut groves. His village loved cricket very much. His father, Separamadu Milton, used to be a bus mechanic.
Malinga went to three schools: Mahinda College, Galle; Vidyaloka College, Galle; and Vidyathilake Vidyalaya, Thiranagama. He started his schooling at Vidyathilake Vidyalaya. After passing an exam in 1993, he went to Vidyaloka College. This is where his cricket journey truly began.
A former Sri Lankan fast bowler, Champaka Ramanayake, found Malinga's talent. Champaka was very impressed by Malinga's natural ability. He asked Malinga to join the Galle Cricket Club. Champaka also helped him join the main cricket team at Mahinda College. Joining Mahinda College was a big moment for his cricket career. Some older students from the college also helped him a lot.
At first, there was an attempt to change Malinga's bowling style. This made him bowl slower and less accurately. But Malinga quickly went back to his natural style. With encouragement from Ramanayake, he found success again. He didn't start playing with a hard cricket ball until he was a teenager. But his talent was clear to coaches Champaka Ramanayake and Anusha Samaranayake. They helped him get into professional cricket.
Amazing International Career
First Steps in Test Cricket
Malinga played his first Test match on 1 July 2004. It was against Australia in Darwin. He did very well right away. He took six wickets in that match. He was surprised by how friendly the Australian team was. Especially Adam Gilchrist, who gave him a match stump after the game.
Malinga then played his first One Day International (ODI) match. This was in the 2004 Asia Cup against the United Arab Emirates. He was the 123rd player to play an ODI for Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka won easily. Malinga took one wicket in that game. After this, he became a regular player in the ODI team.
Test Retirement and Pace
Malinga became Sri Lanka's fastest Test bowler. He was a regular player in both Test and ODI teams. He was known for troubling batsmen with his fast and well-aimed bouncers. He often bowled between 140 and 150 kilometers per hour. Sometimes he bowled even faster. Over time, his speed dropped a bit, to around 130-140 km/h. His slower off-cutter ball was also very dangerous.
He became famous in Test cricket after bowling brilliantly against New Zealand. This helped Sri Lanka draw the Test series in New Zealand in 2006/07. On 22 April 2011, he announced his retirement from Test cricket. He did this to play longer in ODI and T20 cricket.
World Cup Wonders
During the 2007 Cricket World Cup, Malinga made history. In a match against South Africa, he became the first player to take four wickets in four balls in an ODI. This is called a "double hat-trick". South Africa needed five runs to win with five wickets left. Malinga bowled in the 45th over. He bowled out Shaun Pollock and then had Andrew Hall caught. In his next over, he got Jacques Kallis caught and then bowled Makhaya Ntini.
This was only the fifth hat-trick in World Cup history. It was also Sri Lanka's third ODI hat-trick. He almost took the last wicket too. Even with Malinga's amazing bowling, South Africa still won the match by 1 wicket. Malinga was chosen for the 'Team of the Tournament' for the 2007 World Cup.
In the 2011 Cricket World Cup, Malinga took his second hat-trick. This was against Kenya. He became the first bowler to take two World Cup hat-tricks. He was again named in the 'Team of the Tournament'. In August 2011, he took another hat-trick against Australia. This made him the first person to take three hat-tricks in ODI cricket.
For his great playing in 2011, the ICC named him as the 12th man in the World ODI XI. He was also named in the World ODI XI by the ICC for 2012 and 2013. ESPNcricinfo also picked him for their World ODI XI.
He was also chosen for the 'Team of the Tournament' for the 2009 T20I World Cup. His bowling performance of 5 wickets for 28 runs against Australia was voted the second-best ODI bowling of 2011. His 5 wickets for 31 runs against England was voted the best T20I bowling of 2012. The ICC also named him in the 'Team of the Tournament' for the 2012 T20 World Cup.
Captaincy
Malinga became the vice-captain of Sri Lanka's Twenty20 International team in October 2012. He became captain of the Sri Lankan Cricket Team in the 2014 ICC World Twenty20. This happened after Dinesh Chandimal was banned. Malinga successfully led the team to win the World Cup. But because of injuries, he stepped down from captaincy in 2015.
His bowling of 5 wickets for 56 runs against Pakistan in 2014 was named the best ODI Bowling Performance of the year by ESPNcricinfo. He was also nominated for another great spell against the same team. In 2016, he was appointed ODI captain against India due to injuries to the regular captain. Sri Lanka lost that match. On 14 December 2018, Malinga was again made the limited overs captain for the New Zealand tour.
Returning to International Play
Malinga took a break from cricket for a year after a T20I match in March 2016. He had back and knee injuries. These injuries made him miss many matches. Sri Lanka lost many games and dropped in international rankings. Even though he recovered, he got dengue and missed more games. Malinga was named captain for the 2016 Asia Cup, but only played one match. His injuries forced him to step down as captain for the World T20.
His comeback match was against Australia on 17 February 2017. He took two wickets and two catches. Sri Lanka won the match. On 6 April 2017, Malinga took a hat-trick against Bangladesh. He became the second Sri Lankan to do so in T20Is. This was his fourth international hat-trick, a record for Sri Lanka.
Malinga played in the 2017 ICC Champions Trophy in June 2017. His first match back was against South Africa. It was not a good game for him. He took no wickets and gave away many runs. Sri Lanka lost badly. During the Indian ODI series, Malinga was made stand-in captain for one match. In that game, he took his 300th ODI wicket by dismissing Virat Kohli.
After his comeback, Malinga was not as effective. He said he wanted to play until the 2019 Cricket World Cup. Because of his bowling, he was left out of the ODI squad for the 2017–18 Pakistan series. He was also left out of the team in late 2017 due to fitness issues.
Malinga was told to play in domestic competitions to be selected again. He missed a tournament because of his coaching duties with Mumbai Indians. But he still hoped to join the international team for the South African tour in 2018. He was not picked for that tour.
He kept working on his fitness and bowling. After a good domestic season, he was called back for the 2018 Asia Cup. He played the first game against Bangladesh. He took two wickets in the first over and finished with 4 wickets for 23 runs. On 13 October 2018, against England, Malinga took his eighth five-wicket haul. Four of these were his special slow yorkers. He finished with five wickets for 44 runs. During this match, he also completed 500 international wickets.
Saying Goodbye to One-Day Cricket
In early 2019, Malinga captained Sri Lanka against South Africa. They lost the ODI series 5–0. They also lost the T20I series 3–0. During this series, Malinga said that the 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup would be his last ODI tournament. He also said the 2020 ICC T20 World Cup would be his last international tournament. In April 2019, he was chosen for Sri Lanka's squad for the 2019 Cricket World Cup.
On 21 June 2019, in a match against England, Malinga took his 50th World Cup wicket. He reached this milestone faster than anyone else. Sri Lanka won the match, and Malinga was named man of the match. He ended the tournament as Sri Lanka's top wicket-taker. He was also the third-highest wicket-taker of all time in World Cups.
On 26 July 2019, he played his last ODI match. It was against Bangladesh at R Premadasa Stadium. The stadium was full of fans with "Thank You Mali" banners. In his final over, he took the wicket of Mustafizur Rahman. This made him the ninth-highest wicket taker in ODIs, with 338 wickets.
T20 International Milestones
Malinga was named captain for the T20I series against New Zealand. This team had many young players. In the first T20I, he passed Shahid Afridi's record to become the highest wicket-taker in Twenty20 Internationals. He took two wickets, but Sri Lanka lost. In the second T20I, New Zealand won the series.
In the third T20I, Sri Lanka scored 125 runs. Malinga bowled an amazing spell. He took the wicket of Colin Munro, becoming the first cricketer to take 100 wickets in T20 Internationals. He also became the first cricketer to take 100 wickets in all three formats of the game (Tests, ODIs, and T20Is). He then took the wickets of Hamish Rutherford and Colin de Grandhomme, completing his fifth hat-trick. This was his second T20I hat-trick. He is the only cricketer to have two T20I hat-tricks and five international hat-tricks.
He then took the wicket of Ross Taylor. This made him the only bowler in the world to take two "four-in-four" (four wickets in four balls). His first "four-in-four" was in the 2007 World Cup against South Africa. Malinga finished his spell with 5 wickets for only 6 runs. Sri Lanka won the match, and he was named man of the match.
In November 2020, Malinga was nominated for the ICC Men's ODI and T20I Cricketer of the Decade awards. He retired from all cricket on 14 September 2021. He ended his career as the leading wicket-taker in T20Is with 107 wickets. He announced his retirement on his YouTube channel.
Playing in Franchise Leagues
On 20 January 2021, Lasith Malinga retired from T20 franchise cricket.
IPL Star: Mumbai Indians
Malinga played for the Indian Premier League (IPL) team Mumbai Indians since 2008. He became their main bowler and the top wicket-taker in the whole competition. Sachin Tendulkar, a former Mumbai Indians captain, said Malinga was very important to the team. In his first match for Mumbai Indians in the fourth season, he took 5 wickets. This helped limit Delhi Daredevils to only 95 runs.
His best bowling figures ever are 6 wickets for 7 runs. This was for Melbourne Stars against Perth Scorchers in December 2012. It is the only six-wicket haul in Australia's Big Bash League. Malinga also played for Kent Spitfires in the English T20 competition in 2007. Kent won the tournament, and Malinga was a key player.
For his great play in 2010, 2011, and 2014, he was named in the ESPNcricinfo IPL XI. He won the Purple Cap award in the fourth IPL season. This award is for the bowler who takes the most wickets. He took 28 wickets in 16 matches. He led the Mumbai Indians' bowling attack and helped them win many games.
In the 2011 Champions League Twenty20, he took the most wickets. He won the golden wicket award and was named player of the tournament. Malinga also scored many runs. He was named in the ESPNcricinfo CLT20 XI for his performances in 2011. He took his 100th IPL wicket in 2013. He was the first bowler to reach 100 wickets in IPL history.
For the 10-year anniversary of IPL, he was also named in the all-time ESPNcricinfo IPL XI. In the 2018 IPL Auctions, Mumbai Indians did not buy Malinga. This was because his bowling had not been as good recently. However, on 7 February 2018, Malinga became the bowling mentor for Mumbai Indians. He played 127 games for Mumbai Indians in the IPL and Champions League T20. He is the highest wicket-taker for the team with 179 wickets. In 2019, Mumbai Indians bought him again.
In December 2018, he was bought back by the Mumbai Indians for the 2019 Indian Premier League. On 22 March 2019, he said he would miss at least the first six IPL matches. This was because Sri Lanka's selectors wanted him to play in a local tournament to qualify for the World Cup. But on 25 March 2019, Sri Lanka Cricket changed their decision. They allowed him to play in the IPL. He returned to Sri Lanka for the local tournament and then rejoined Mumbai after April 10.
Malinga was available for Mumbai Indians for all of April. He helped Mumbai Indians win their fourth title. He took a wicket on the very last ball of the final. This gave Mumbai a win by just one run.
He also achieved something very special in 2019. He took 10 wickets in two different types of games in two different countries within 24 hours. On 3 April 2019, he played in an IPL match for Mumbai Indians. He took 3 wickets for 34 runs. The next day, he flew to Kandy to play in a domestic match for Galle. He was the captain of the team. In that match, he took his career-best 7 wickets for 49 runs. This meant he took 10 wickets in one day across two matches in two different nations.
He decided not to play in the 2020 Indian Premier League for personal reasons. James Pattinson took his place.
Other T20 Leagues
In May 2018, Malinga was named one of the main players for the first Global T20 Canada cricket tournament. On 3 June 2018, he was chosen to play for the Montreal Tigers. He took the most wickets for the Montreal Tigers in that tournament, with thirteen wickets in six matches.
In October 2020, he was chosen by the Galle Gladiators for the first Lanka Premier League. However, he decided not to play, saying he hadn't played enough matches recently. Some fans criticized him for not playing in the LPL.
Malinga's Unique Bowling Style
Malinga's bowling action has been talked about a lot. The cricket book Wisden said his delivery action was like "slinging." This is how he got his nickname "Slinga Malinga." Malinga said his unique round-arm bowling action came from learning to play cricket only with a tennis ball. Usually, young bowlers are taught to bowl with their arm straight up. This helps them control the ball better.
Sir Viv Richards was very impressed by Lasith Malinga's bowling during the 2007 Cricket World Cup. He said that Lasith Malinga was the best thing to happen to Sri Lankan cricket after Aravinda de Silva.
Incredible Cricket Records
- First bowler to take 100 wickets in Twenty20 Internationals (T20Is).
- First bowler to take 100 wickets in all three types of international cricket (Tests, ODIs, and T20Is).
- The first and only bowler to take three hat-tricks in One-Day International cricket.
- He holds the best bowling figures in the men's Big Bash T20 league in Australia. He took 6 wickets for 7 runs for Melbourne Stars against Perth Scorchers.
Life After Playing: Coaching
In February 2018, Malinga became the bowling mentor for the Mumbai Indians team. This was for the 2018 IPL season. Mumbai Indians said Malinga would help as a mentor and be part of the coaching staff. Before this, Mumbai Indians had released Malinga from their team for the 2018 IPL auction. This was because of his bowling in the 2017 IPL season.
In 2022, he became the fast bowling coach for the Rajasthan Royals. He also coached the MI Cape Town and MI New York teams in other T20 leagues in 2022. Later, he was appointed as the bowling coach for Mumbai Indians in 2023 for the 2024 IPL season.
Images for kids
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A graph showing Malinga's Test career bowling statistics over time.
