Mumbai Indians appoint Lasith Malinga as fast bowling coach

Former Sri Lankan pacer Lasith Malinga will return to five-time IPL champions Mumbai Indians as their fast bowling coach for the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024. Malinga will be replacing former Kiwi pacer Shane Bond, who has been serving Mumbai Indians for quite a few years now.

Malinga was recently employed with the inaugural champions, Rajasthan Royals, whom he joined in the 15th edition of the tournament. It is worth noting that Malinga served as Mumbai Indians’ mentor back in 2018 but returned to the playing field a year later before retiring in 2021.

It is unclear whether Bond will continue as the head coach for MI Emirates at the ILT20. Furthermore, Malinga’s return to Mumbai Indians’ setup could go a long way for the five-time champions. Under the former Sri Lankan’s guidance, Rajasthan Royals came into their own in the IPL 2022 and managed to reach the summit clash of the tournament, and it could be interesting to see if Malinga can have a similar effect on Mumbai Indians. 

Mumbai Indians missed out on IPL 2023’s summit clash

Speaking of Mumbai Indians’ performance in the 16th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023, the side got off to a horrid start to the tournament. Losing many games in the early stages. However, they eventually found their form and managed to make it to the knockout stages of the competition. 

The side finished fourth place in the group standings with 16 points in 14 matches. Furthermore, they won the tournament’s Eliminator against Lucknow Super Giants but lost to Hardik Pandya-led Gujarat Titans in Qualifier 2. 

On the other hand, Rajasthan Royals, with whom Lasith Malinga was involved, failed to make it to the tournament's knockout stages. Reaching the final of the tournament in 2022, the side finished in fifth place with 14 points in just as many matches.