Legend retires from all forms of Cricket

Lasith Malinga announces retirement from all forms of cricket!

Veteran Sri Lanka cricketer Lasith Malinga on Tuesday announced his retirement from all forms of cricket.

Veteran Sri Lanka cricketer Lasith Malinga on Tuesday announced his retirement from all forms of cricket. "The experience that I have gained through the past 17 years will no longer be needed in the field since I have decided to retire from T20I Cricket marking my retirement from all formats of cricket," said Malinga in a video on his YouTube channel titled 'While my shoes will rest my love for the game will never rest'.

"But I will be continuously supporting the younger generations who thrives to uplift the spirit of the game and I will always be there with all who love the game," he added as he thanked Sri Lankan cricket and all the franchises he has played for including Mumbai Indians.

Lasith Malinga, Sri Lanka’s 2014 T20 World Cup winning captain, has announced his retirement from T20Is, marking his retirement from all formats of the game. Malinga posted a message on his social media account announcing his decision. He also posted a video on his YouTube channel, showing a compilation of his wickets in T20s. “While my shoes will rest my love for the game will never rest,” he captioned the video.

Malinga posted a message on his social media account announcing his decision. He also posted a video on his YouTube channel, showing a compilation of his wickets in T20s. “While my shoes will rest my love for the game will never rest,” he captioned the video.

Malinga’s post on social media on Tuesday was:

“Message from Lasith Malinga : The experience that I have gained through the past 17 years will no longer be needed in the field since I have decided to retire from T20I Cricket marking my retirement from all formats of cricket.

But I will be continuously supporting the younger generations who thrives to uplift the spirit of the game and I will always be there with all who love the game.

May the triple gem bless you all!

Sri Lanka Cricket

Mumbai Indians

Melbourne Stars

Rangpur Riders

Kent Cricket

Guyana Amazon Warriors

Maratha Arabians

Montreal Tigers"

Earlier this year, Malinga’s IPL team Mumbai Indians said Malinga had told them he wished to retire from franchise cricket, and he was not retained in the squad this year. He last played for Sri Lanka in March 2020, in a T20I vs West Indies.

Sri Lanka announced their squad for the T20 World Cup last week.

Lasith Malinga has announced his retirement from T20 cricket after 295 matches where he picked 390 wickets. Malinga had already retired from Tests in 2011 and from ODIs in 2019. The Sri Lanka pacer had also announced his retirement from franchise cricket in January this year after being released by Mumbai Indians.

Malinga finishes with astonishing figures - a strike rate of 16.60, an economy of 7.07 and an average of 19.68. He was the first bowler to bag 100 T20I wickets before ending with 107 scalps. He finishes fourth in the highest wicket-taker category in the list behind Dwayne Bravo, Imran Tahir and Sunil Narine.

"Today is a very special day for me. I want to thank each one of you who have supported me throughout my T20 career. Today I have decided to give 100 per cent rest to my T20 bowling shoes," he said. "I want to thank Sri Lanka cricket board, Mumbai Indians, Melbourne Stars, Kent Cricket Club, Rangpur Riders, Guyana Warriors, Maratha Warriors and Montreal Tigers. I now want to share my experience with young cricketers who want to play franchise cricket and for their national team.

"While my shoes rest, my love for the game will never ask for rest. Looking forward to seeing our youngsters make history."

Malinga, one of the best T20 bowlers of all time, was a crucial figure in the teams he represented in Indian Premier League, Big Bash League, Caribbean Premier League, and other franchise tournaments. He was part of four of the five IPL championship wins with Mumbai Indians but had opted out of the 2020 tournament.