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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Separamadu Lasith Malinga (born 28 August 1983) is a famous Sri Lankan former cricketer. Many people think he is one of the best bowlers ever in limited overs cricket. He was a right-arm fast bowler. Malinga was known for bowling at the end of games, called a "death bowler." 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 bowling style. It looked like he was slinging the ball. He stopped playing all forms of cricket on 14 September 2021.
Malinga's unique bowling style and his tricky slower yorker balls helped him succeed a lot. He changed how bowlers played at the end of limited overs games. Malinga was great at taking wickets very quickly. He is the only bowler to have two World Cup hat-tricks. He was also the first bowler to take a double hat-trick. He is the only bowler to take 4 wickets in 4 balls twice in international cricket. He is also the only bowler to have taken three hat-tricks in ODIs. Malinga is the first bowler to take five hat-tricks across all types of international cricket. He holds the record for the most hat-tricks in international cricket.
He stopped playing Test cricket on 22 April 2011. This was so he could play more in One Day International (ODI) and Twenty20 (T20) matches. The ICC made him the official ambassador for the 2012 World Twenty20 World Cup in Sri Lanka. On 26 July 2019, he retired from One Day International cricket. His last ODI game was against Bangladesh.
In September 2019, Malinga became the first bowler to take 100 wickets in Twenty20 International cricket. He achieved a hat-trick in that series. This made him the first bowler to get two T20I hat-tricks. He also took four wickets in four balls in the same game. This made him only the second bowler to do this in T20I history.
In January 2021, he retired from T20 franchise cricket. Then, in September 2021, Malinga announced he was retiring from all cricket.
Contents
Early Life and Cricket Start
Malinga grew up in a small village called Rathgama. It is a coastal village near Galle. He often played cricket with his friends on the sand and in coconut groves. His father, Separamadu Milton, was a bus mechanic.
Malinga went to three schools: Mahinda College, Galle; Vidyaloka College, Galle; and Vidyathilake Vidyalaya, Thiranagama. He started his cricket journey at Vidyaloka College. There, a former Sri Lankan paceman named Champaka Ramanayake discovered him. Champaka was very impressed by Malinga's talent. He invited 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.
Malinga did not 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.
In his first hard-ball game, he took his first wicket by hitting the stumps. His teammates nicknamed him daakaththa, which means "the sickle," because of his unique bowling action.
International Cricket Journey
First Matches
Malinga played his first Test match on 1 July 2004 against Australia. He did very well, taking six wickets in that game. The Australian team was very friendly. Adam Gilchrist even gave him one of the match stumps after the game.
Malinga's first ODI game was on 17 July 2004 against the United Arab Emirates. He took one wicket in that match. Since then, he became a regular player in the ODI team.
Leaving Test Cricket
Malinga became Sri Lanka's fastest Test bowler. He was known for bothering batsmen with his fast balls and good bouncers. He often bowled at speeds between 140 and 150 kilometers per hour. Later, his speed dropped a bit, but his slower ball was still very effective. He decided to retire from Test cricket on 22 April 2011. He did this to play longer in ODI and T20 cricket.
World Cup Highlights
During the 2007 Cricket World Cup, Malinga made history. On 28 March, against South Africa, he became the first player to take four wickets in four balls in a One Day International match. This was only the fifth hat-trick in World Cup history. Even with his amazing bowling, South Africa still won the match. He 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 made him 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 for 2012 and 2013.
Coming Back to Cricket
After some injuries, Malinga took a break from cricket. He missed several international tours. He had a back injury and a knee injury. He was chosen for the Australian tour in 2017. His comeback match was on 17 February 2017 against Australia. He took two wickets in that game.
On 6 April 2017, Malinga took a hat-trick against Bangladesh. This was his fourth international hat-trick. He now shares the record for most international hat-tricks with Wasim Akram.
Malinga played in the 2017 ICC Champions Trophy in June 2017. His first match back was against South Africa. He did not take any wickets in that game. During a series against India, Malinga took his 300th ODI wicket by getting Virat Kohli out.
Because of his injuries, Malinga was not as effective. He was left out of the team for some time. However, he kept working on his fitness. He was then called back to the national team for the 2018 Asia Cup. He played well, taking four wickets for only 23 runs against Bangladesh.
On 13 October 2018, against England, Malinga took his eighth five-wicket haul. He took five wickets for 44 runs. During this match, he also reached 500 international wickets.
Final ODI Matches
In early 2019, Malinga captained Sri Lanka in a series against South Africa. Sri Lanka lost all the matches. 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 T20 tournament.
He was part of Sri Lanka's team for the 2019 Cricket World Cup. On 21 June 2019, against England, Malinga took his 50th wicket in a World Cup match. He reached this milestone faster than anyone else. Sri Lanka won that match, and Malinga was named man of the match. He ended the tournament as Sri Lanka's top wicket-taker. He is the third-highest wicket-taker of all time in World Cups.
On 26 July 2019, Malinga played his last ODI game at R Premadasa Stadium against Bangladesh. Fans held up banners saying "Thank You Mali." He took the wicket of Mustafizur Rahman in his final over. This made him the ninth-highest wicket taker in ODIs with 338 wickets.
After ODI Retirement
Malinga was named captain for the T20I series against New Zealand. In the first T20I, he passed Shahid Afridi to become the highest wicket-taker in Twenty20 Internationals. In the third T20I, Malinga became the first cricketer to take 100 wickets in Twenty20 Internationals. He also became the first cricketer to take 100 wickets in all three types of international cricket (Tests, ODIs, and T20Is). He then took his fifth hat-trick, his second in T20Is. He also became the only bowler in the world to take four wickets in four balls twice. Malinga ended 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. Malinga retired from all forms of 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.
T20 Franchise Career
On 20 January 2021, Lasith Malinga retired from T20 franchise cricket.
Indian Premier League
Malinga played for the Indian Premier League (IPL) team Mumbai Indians starting in 2008. He became their main bowler and the top bowler in the IPL for wickets taken. He won the Purple Cap award for taking the most wickets (28) in the fourth IPL season.
In the 2011 Champions League Twenty20, he took the most wickets and won the golden wicket award. He was also named the player of the tournament. In 2013, he took his 100th IPL wicket. He was the first bowler to reach 100 wickets in IPL history.
In 2018, Malinga became a bowling mentor for the Mumbai Indians. He had played 127 games for them and was their highest wicket-taker with 179 wickets. In 2019, he was bought back by the Mumbai Indians. He helped them win their fourth IPL title in 2019. He took a wicket on the very last ball of the final game, helping Mumbai win by just one run.
In 2019, he achieved something unique. He took 10 wickets in two different types of matches in two different countries within 24 hours. On 3 April 2019, he took 3 wickets in an IPL match for Mumbai Indians. The next day, he flew to Sri Lanka and took 7 wickets in a domestic match.
He did not play in the 2020 Indian Premier League for personal reasons.
Other Leagues
In May 2018, he was chosen as one of the top players for the first Global T20 Canada cricket tournament. He played for the Montreal Tigers and took the most wickets for his team.
In October 2020, he was picked by the Galle Gladiators for the first Lanka Premier League. However, he decided not to play, saying he needed more practice.
Bowling Style
Malinga's bowling action is very famous. The cricket book Wisden said his action was like "slinging," which led to his nickname "Slinga Malinga." Malinga said he learned this unique round-arm style by playing cricket with a tennis ball.
Sir Viv Richards praised Malinga's bowling during the 2007 Cricket World Cup. He said Malinga was the best thing to happen to Sri Lankan cricket since Aravinda de Silva.
Amazing Records
- First bowler to take 100 T20I wickets.
- 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.
- Best bowling figures by any bowler in the men's Big Bash T20 league: 6 wickets for 7 runs for Melbourne Stars against Perth Scorchers.
Coaching Career
In February 2018, Malinga became a bowling mentor for the Mumbai Indians team in the 2018 IPL season. He helped the coaching staff.
In 2022, he became the fast bowling coach for the Rajasthan Royals. He also coached for the MI Cape Town and MI New York teams.
Later, in 2023, he was appointed as the bowling coach for Mumbai Indians for the 2024 IPL season.
