Pietersen was one of the jury on Star Sports show "Cricket Connected" that picked the best from all departments.
Former England skipper Kevin Pietersen recently picked the player who he thinks is the Greatest of All Time (G.O.A.T) in the Indian Premier League (IPL). Star Sports had a panel of the esteemed jury on their show named “Cricket Connected” that picked the best from all departments.
There was a 10-bowler nominee list which consisted of the likes of Dale Steyn, Ashish Nehra, Sunil Narine, and Jasprit Bumrah and others. But, Sri Lankan pacer Lasith Malinga was picked as the best bowler.
IPL 2020: "Dhoni owns Malinga", Styris uses star match-up to explain why CSK is better than MI
Pietersen who was a part of the jury backed Malinga as he said, “I’m going with Lasith. You look at the numbers he has served up and the way he has consistently used that yorker, that makes everyone talk about it. Malinga is my guy.”
“I would go with Narine, but he has bowled on wickets which helped turn. Also, he has been questioned on a few occasions for this suspect bowling action, so I am afraid to say that I am going with Malinga,” he added.
The 36-year-old who plays for the four-time IPL champions Mumbai Indians is also the highest wicket-taker of the tournament with 170 wickets to his name in 122 matches.
‘Slinga Malinga’ who is known for his toe crushing yorkers after winning Pietersen’s vote, found favor among Star Sports experts Dean Jones, Mathew Hayden, Aakash Chopra, Graeme Smith, Simon Doull, Ian Bishop, and Tom Moody.
(With IANS inputs)