Rajasthan Royals fast bowling coach Lasith Malinga feels the team has a fantastic pace attack with a good mix of experienced international players, genuine Indian quicks and youngsters. Malinga, who took 546 wickets in 340 international matches across three formats for Sri Lanka and also led the country to 2014 ICC T20 World Cup triumph, has been roped in by the Royals as their new fast bowling coach ahead of IPL 2022.
“I think we have a fantastic pace attack. You’ve got experienced overseas players like Boult and Coulter-Nile, with whom I’ve worked before,” Malinga was quoted as saying in a media release.
“Then we’ve got genuine Indian fast bowlers in Prasidh (Krishna) and (Navdeep) Saini, who have proven themselves at the highest level, and some new faces in Anunay Singh, Kuldeep Sen and Kuldip Yadav.
“In T20 cricket, I think little margins really matter, and I’m here to guide them to deliver their best in all situations,” he added.
Talking about joining the new franchise, the 38-year-old, who is also IPL’s highest wicket-taker, said he’s enjoying his new role.
“It is certainly a new thing for me to get into coaching and pass on my experience to the younger players. I have played this role before with Mumbai, and now I’m delighted to be working with Rajasthan Royals. It is a new place for me, but I’m enjoying my role so far working with such a talented group of bowlers.” Having been associated with Mumbai Indians for 13 seasons, he also recalled how the move to Royals came about.
“It was actually last year that Kumar (Sangakkara) asked me if I was interested. But with COVID and all the bubble restrictions, I didn’t want to stay away from my family.
