Shane Bond says workload of bowlers like Malinga should be managed especially in IPL

Former Kiwi speedster and the current bowling coach of Mumbai Indians in the IPL, Shane Bond who terrorised star-studded batting line-ups during his heydeys said that managing the workload of the bowlers especially considering the tight schedule of the tournament is very important as the tournament reaches the business end.

He revealed that the decision to give Sri Lankan fast bowler Lasith Malinga a break for some matches has been a collective decision by the management given he just returned from an injury. He further stressed on the fact that bowlers like Malinga need to be fresh and raring to go in the fag end of the tournament which will be ominous signs for the oppositions.

“There is a lot of discussion between myself, (MI coach) Mahela Jayawardene and (team) management about managing him (Malinga) through a tighter schedule (of the) IPL this year. We are aware of all our bowlers and (need) to manage workload, and in particular for the guys (players) who have come back from injury,” Bond was quoted as saying by Times of India.

“Even though Mali (Malinga) hasn’t had the best of times, there were going to be games he was to be pulled out because we wanted to make sure he is fresh and rested,” Bond added. Malinga has been an integral part of the Mumbai Indians since the 2^nd season and has been one of the most successful bowlers in the tournament but off late he has gone for runs.

They have a great bench strength with Mitchell Johnson and Tim Southee who has the ability to destroy batting line-ups on their own. “This is a long tournament and we want guys all fit and fine at the back-end of the tournament. We have got a good back-up in Mitch (Mitchell) Johnson and Tim Southee. So that’s the challenge for us now, who to play because we have got a good bowling stock,” said Bond.

Despite their defeat to Rising Pune Supergiant in the previous encounter, Mumbai has maintained their numero uno status in the points table and will look to get back to winning ways in their next match against the Gujarat Lions on Saturday.