Legendary pacer and Sri Lanka’s 2014 T20 World Cup-winning captain Lasith Malinga had announced his retirement from all forms of cricket on Tuesday. The latter ended a decorated 16-year international career that began in 2004.
The man had lead Sri Lanka to the title of ICC T20 World Cup 2014 and surely wanted to play the 2021 T20 World Cup, however, the selectors did not select him and Malinga announced his retirement soon after.
While all will surely miss him, his one peculiar trait of ‘kissing’ the ball before his spell will be remembered. This trick of his has been there since the beginning of his career.
In fact, Malinga used to kiss the ball before throwing it. Whenever the pacer used to start his run-up, he would throw the ball only after kissing it. When asked the reason behind his unique trait of his, he had told that he actually respects the ball.
In an old interview, Malinga had disclosed that “Cricket is my job and this is how my life goes. As a bowler, I respect the ball. It is my habit to kiss the ball, which I have been doing since the beginning of my career”.
Malinga is the only bowler in the world to have achieved the feat of taking a hat-trick twice in the World Cup. Not just that, in the 2007 World Cup, he took 4 wickets in 4 consecutive balls against South Africa.
As for his retirement, in a video posted on social media, Malinga said, “Today is a very special day for me because I want to thank each and everyone who has supported me and blessed me throughout my T20 career. Today I decided, I want to give a hundred per cent rest for my T20 bowling shoes.”
“I want to thank the Sri Lanka cricket board and my team members. I want to thank the Mumbai Indians cricket team and team members, especially the owners and the officials, Melbourne Stars, Kent Cricket Club, Rangpur Riders, Guyana Warriors, Maratha Arabians, and Montreal Tigers.
Hanging up my #T20 shoes and #retiring from all forms of cricket! Thankful to all those who supported me in my journey, and looking forward to sharing my experience with young cricketers in the years to come.https://t.co/JgGWhETRwm #LasithMalinga #Ninety9
— Lasith Malinga (@ninety9sl) September 14, 2021
“When I played with you all, I got plenty of experience. I want to share my experience in the future with young cricketers,” he added.
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