Lasith Malinga Turns to Zaheer for Career Guidance as Age Catches Up

On the eve of the 3rd ODI between India and Sri Lanka, Lankan pacer Lasith Malinga had begun to actively seek out Zaheer Khan for tips to remain in contention until 2023. Malinga, now 34 years old, is not getting any younger and admitted that he is ready to play until 2023. The Sri Lankan legend is aiming to transition from a tearaway quick to a seam and swing bowler.

Malinga may be fast but time and age are faster, the Sri Lankan speedster and his signature golden locks can no longer deliver 90kph yorkers that batsmen have grown to fear. What doesn’t help his cause is the fact that he had to recover from a knee injury which took him away from the action for 18 months. Malinga was a consistent 90kph bowler until 2015 when the knee issues took hold. Zaheer and Lasith both had similar debuts, both coming in hard and fast. But as he gained experience, Zak managed to tweak his bowling action while Malinga was firmly seen as a fast bowler.

To alter his bowling style, Malinga turned to his former Mumbai Indians teammate and friend for advice. “Zaheer is more of a seam and swing bowler, and I want to learn more of that kind of thing over the next few years. That’s what I discussed with him,” said Malinga “He (Zaheer) is a legend of the Indian bowling attack in previous years. We always talk with so many bowlers around the world. When I meet them, I want to get their experiences also. Because they are in the commentary box, they look at every single one of my body movements and my bowling action, and how I swing the ball. They have a good idea of how I’m going now. Then, every time I have an opportunity, we speak about my bowling action, and how I have to improve,”

He said that he has slowed down his pace but he still remains as the spearhead of the Lankan bowling attack. He is just one wicket shy of a 300th ODI wicket but he said that he is not thinking about the record but instead focussing on getting his game back on track step by step.