“This is the Right Time to Move On”: Lasith Malinga on his Retirement

Sri Lankan pace superstar, Lasith Malinga, on Friday retired from One Day International Cricket and his time in One Day Cricket was ‘over’ according to Malinga.

“I feel it’s the right time for me to retire from ODIs. I have been playing for the last 15 years for Sri Lanka and this is the right time to move on. My time is over and I have to go. Winning is very important for me. We are a young team,” Malinga said in the post-match presentation.

Malinga, after his final ODI match, was highly appreciated by many fans and colleagues on social media.

Though Malinga was picked for the entire duration of the Bangladesh tour, the speedster announced his retirement before the start of the series saying he would retire after the first ODI against Bangladesh.

In his final ODI, Malinga, as he so often did in his illustrious ODI career, helped his team to a comfortable victory. Malinga returned with figures of 3 for 38 off his 9.4 overs in the 91-run victory for Sri Lanka.

The three wickets in his final ODI also ensured that he got past Anil Kumble to become the ninth highest wicket-taker in the history of ODI cricket. His overall haul of 338 wickets in 220 innings also makes him the third highest wicket taket for Sri Lanka after Muttiah Muralitharan (523) and Chaminda Vaas (399).

Malinga, who was undoubtedly a match winner for Sri Lanka on his day, shared a piece of advice to the young bowlers in Sri Lanka.

“I tried my best throughout my career. Some of the young bowlers in the country have good ability, so they need to try and produce match-winning spells. You have to be a match-winner for your team, that’s my advice,” he said.

Lasith Malinga can be proud of what he has achieved, and will be leaving ODI cricket on a high after he was Sri Lanka’s highest wicket taker in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 with 13 wickets.