Lasith Malinga, a cricketer that ruled the limited overs cricket with his toe crushing yorkers for a number of years. It was close to impossible for the batsmen to score runs off him when he was in full flow. But of late, his prowess has diminished quite considerably. His pace has gone down and even if he bowls those yorkers, the batsmen are able to pick him.
Sri Lankan cricket has been in a state of turmoil in the past few months and Lasith Malinga has been a part of it. During the crisis, he is intending to turn to Indian fast bowling legend Zaheer Khan. The Sri Lankan pacer said that he wants to learn the tricks of the trade from Zaheer.
“Zaheer is more of a seam and swing bowler, and I want to learn more of that kind of thing over the next few years. That’s what I discussed with him,” said Malinga.
“He (Zaheer) is a legend of the Indian bowling attack in previous years. We always talk with so many bowlers around the world. When I meet them, I want to get their experiences also. Because they are in the commentary box, they look at every single one of my body movements and my bowling action, and how I swing the ball. They have a good idea of how I’m going now. Then, every time I have an opportunity, we speak about my bowling action, and how I have to improve,” Malinga said about Zaheer.
He went on to reflect on his long career and reckons that as the age starts to take its toll on a player, there are bound to be failures.
“I have played 14 years of international and franchise cricket. I have played (against) every other country and every single player in international cricket. Now I’m 34. My pace is cut down. If you (would have) asked me (this) 10 years ago, I wouldn’t have expected that. But whoever is coming towards the end of his career, there are failures. People talk about them not being fit enough, or not picking him,” he added.
The Sri Lankan maestro recently picked up his 300th ODI wicket in the 4th ODI against India. He has expressed his desire to play till 2023. Zaheer Khan worked on his fitness in the latter stages of his career and made a strong comeback and so, Malinga would be hoping to seek such an advice from the Indian pacer to survive longer in international cricket.
