Sri Lanka appoint Lasith Malinga as Bowling Strategy coach for white-ball games against Australia

Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) on Thursday announced the appointment of fast bowling legend Lasith Malinga as the Bowling Strategy Coach of the national men's team for the white-ball games against Australia.

Malinga had previously served in the same capacity when Sri Lanka had toured Australia for a five-match T20I series in February this year.

"Malinga, during the tour, will support Sri Lanka's bowlers, providing tactical insight and technical expertise to help the on-field execution of strategic plans. Sri Lanka Cricket is confident that Malinga's vast experience and renowned death-bowling expertise, especially in the T20 format, will help the team immensely going into this all-important series," said the SLC in a statement.

Malinga, the former captain of Sri Lanka's ODI and T20I teams, including in their 2014 Men's T20 World Cup victory in Bangladesh, had worked as the bowling mentor of five-time IPL champions Mumbai Indians before returning to their triumphant 2019 campaign as a player and recently served as the bowling coach for Rajasthan Royals in the side's finish as runners-up in IPL 2022.

Sri Lanka will be playing T20Is against Australia on June 7, 8 and 11 at R. Premadasa Stadium in capital city Colombo (first two matches) and Pallekele International Cricket Stadium in Kandy (last match). The two teams will also play five ODIs on June 14, 16, 19, 21 and 24, with the first two matches in Kandy followed by the last three matches in Colombo.