St Moritz (Switzerland): Sri Lanka speedster Lasith Malinga has hinted atpossible retirement, saying that he is mentally done with internationalcricket now that his eventful IPL career is over. Malinga was on Wednesdayappointed as bowling mentor of Mumbai Indians.
The Sri Lankan has been the core of Mumbai Indians’ winning combination inthe last decade. He has donned the prestigious Mumbai Indians jersey in 110matches of the 157 games the franchise has played so far.
“Mentally I am done with playing cricket. I don’t think I will playinternational cricket anymore. I am planning to announce my retirementsoon,” Malinga told PTI during an exclusive interaction on the sidelines ofthe St Moritz Ice Cricket Challenge here.
“I have not spoken to Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) but once I go back I willhave to again go through domestic grind, see how my body responds. But nowas my IPL career is also over and I am starting a new chapter with MumbaiIndians, I might not play again,” he added.
Malinga knows it would be tough not to play in front of a capacity WankhedeStadium crowd wearing the Mumbai Indians blue jersey but admitted that inhis heart he knew that his time was up.
“Everyone gets that signal. Even the great Wasim Akram knew when his timewas up,” he said.
“I was not surprised at their decision not to have retained me. I had 10very good years with Mumbai Indians and I achieved a lot. But this year,the owners spoke to me and told me about their vision going forward.
“They wanted to create a good team for the next three years. I alsounderstand that my time in competitive cricket is over now.”
The Sri Lankan slinger said he is looking forward to the new chapter of hislife as a mentor.
“I am 34-years-old and not getting any younger. And I feel this is theright time to make a career move. Mumbai Indians had the mentorship role inmind and I am happy to start a new innings,” said Malinga, who has a record331 T20 wickets across 248 games.
“My job as a mentor will now give me an opportunity to guide the next cropof fast bowlers. I will pass on my knowledge to them and also it will be anopportunity to assess myself in the coaching arena,” he further added.
Malinga acknowledged the emergence of Jasprit Bumrah in the Mumbai Indiansoutfit and said he is a fine prospect in the shortest format.
“Bumrah has emerged as a great death bowler. He has the skill sets which Ialso had — bowling at the death overs under pressure. For that you need adifferent temperament as IPL is a high-pressure tournament,” he said.
“What makes me even more proud is the fact that he has transformed his IPLsuccess into international cricket. I was so happy to see him perform sowell in South Africa. His biggest quality is the ability to be consistent.”