Lasith Malinga May Retire If Sri Lanka Make It To The Knockouts Of The T20 World Cup

India and Sri Lanka will kickstart their preparations for the T20 World Cup later this year in Australia by facing off against each other in the first of the three T20Is in Guwahati on Sunday. Their skipper Lasith Malinga has conceded that he wouldn’t mind hanging up his boots if he ushers his team to the knockouts in the tournament.

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The highest wicket-taker in T20 internationals with 106 scalps, the speedster is also the only bowler to take 100 wickets in the format. Malinga is best known for bamboozling the batsmen through his pin-point yorkers apart from his slower deliveries and bouncers. The veteran pacer remarked in March that he could call it quits after the T20 World Cup in October-November, but expressed his desire to continue to play for another two years.

He retired from Test cricket in 2011 and in 2019 from the 50-over cricket. Yet, the 36-year old stated that his target is to lead the 2014 champions at least to the knockout stage of the competition. Post that; he would comply with whatever the board requires of him.

“I’ve already retired from Tests, and ODIs. Now whatever is required for SL cricket. If they say it’s enough for me now then I’ll be really happy to retire from T20s also,” Malinga said on the eve of the series-opener against India. “My only target is to play qualifying round in the T20 World Cup. If Sri Lanka qualify for the knockouts, I would never mind retiring anytime after that.” Malinga said as quoted by India Today.

Lasith Malinga believes bowlers can be genuine match-winners in the format:

The Sri Lankan T20 skipper believes that bowlers are genuine match-winners in the shortest form of the game. He recalled the time when his side kept India to a paltry score of 130 in the 2014 ICC World T20 in Bangladesh. The Lankans went on to win that game to clinch their maiden T20 trophy.

In this format, the key is to win the situations and bowlers can win you the matches,” he added.

Meanwhile, Sri Lanka battered Pakistan at their home by 3-0 but ended up on the receiving end when Australia hammered them by 0-3 down under. Hence, the Lankans would be eager to start this series on a positive note against a formidable Indian side.

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