SLC appoint Lasith Malinga as 'Bowling Strategy Coach' for Aus T20I series

Former Sri Lanka skipper Lasith Malinga has agreed to take up the role of the 'Bowling Strategy Coach' for the three-match T20I series against Australia.

Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) has issued a media release to confirm the development. They had invited three legends to take up the coaching duties of the national team against Australia in the upcoming ODI and T20I series.

"Sri Lanka Cricket wishes to announce the appointment of Lasith Malinga, the Sri Lankan fast bowling legend and former captain of the ODI and T20I team, as the ‘Bowling Strategy Coach’ of the National Team for the white ball segment of the Australia Tour of Sri Lanka. Malinga, during the tour, will support Sri Lanka’s bowlers, providing tactical insight and technical expertise to help the on-field execution of strategic plans," the release stated. 

In the recently concluded season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022, he played the role of bowling coach for the runner-up, Rajasthan Royals (RR). In his very first stint as a bowling coach with an IPL team, he created an impact straight away as the Royals ended their campaign being the runners-up. RR finished their group stage second behind the Titans.

Malinga joined the team as a fast bowler coach. From the training session to the match, he looked very active, reflecting on the Royals' fast bowlers like Trent Boult, Prasidh Krishna, Obed McCoy, and Kuldeep Sen.

During a career that spanned over 17 years, the right-arm fast bowler represented his country in 340 matches across the three formats, picking up 546 wickets.

Malinga has been previously successful in his coaching job. Being the bowling strategy coach for Sri Lanka against Australia last February, he has done an incredible job for the IPL franchise.