Sanath Jayasuriya expects Lasith Malinga to make a grand comeback

Former Sri Lankan captain Sanath Jayasuriya remained optimistic of the fact that star fast bowler Lasith Malinga who is going through a torrid run in the Indian Premier League (IPL) will come back to form sooner than later and will play an important role if Sri Lanka harbours any hope of winning the upcoming champions Trophy scheduled to be played in England and Wales from 1st June to 18th June.

Meanwhile, Allan Donald has been appointed as the bowling coach of the Sri Lankan national team for the Champions Trophy and the fast bowler famously known as the “White Lightning” said that Sri Lanka plays exceptionally well in ICC tournaments and will be one of the contenders for the Mini World Cup. He was also of the opinion that Malinga will come back to form soon and will play a pivotal role for Sri Lanka in CT.

“Being out of form is part of cricket. I’ve never seen a cricketer who has always been in form in my 17-18 years of cricket. Malinga might go through a little lean patch, but he is a strong enough player to come back and bowl good spells. He might win the match for Mumbai Indians in the final,” Jayasuriya was quoted as saying by the Indian Express.

The former captain also lauds Jayawardena for his coaching stint with MI

The former captain also hailed Mahela Jayawardena who became the coach of Mumbai Indians for this season, replacing Aussie legend Ricky Ponting. It was for the very first time, Mahela got the exposure of coaching a team and Jayasuriya said it was praiseworthy on his part to manage a team like Mumbai Indians so well despite not having any prior coaching experience.

“He has done a great job. Coaching for the first time even though he has played enough cricket, it’s a different role. You’re associating yourself with people from so many other countries: the bowling coach, fielding coach, specialised batting coach, so many coaches are involved in one team. So, to manage them as well as individual cricketers, it’s not easy. Mahela has done a great job of doing that. It was a good test for him,” he said.

“It’ll be a challenge to adjust to the format. Players have been playing a lot of T20 cricket, and you’re in a different mood. Also, the conditions will be totally different. But the player has played enough international cricket to adjust. It is up to individual players to figure out a way,” the former Sri Lankan captain concluded.