On the occasion of the 13th anniversary of the Indian Premier League (IPL), Mumbai Indians lethal strike weapon Lasith Malinga was declared the Greatest of All Time (G.O.A.T) in the history of the IPL by an esteemed jury of Star Sports on their flagship show ‘Cricket Connected.’
The jury was comprised of the commentators like Kevin Pietersen, Dean Jones, Mathew Hayden, Aakash Chopra, Graeme Smith, Simon Doull, Ian Bishop, and Tom Moody.
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The Sri Lankan legend, who is the highest wicket-taker in the tournament with 170 wickets in 122 IPL matches including six four-wicket hauls and one fifer, pipped the likes of Dale Steyn, Sunil Narine, and Jasprit Bumrah to win the honor as the greatest bowler in the history of the IPL.
The other of an elite 10-bowler nominee list are Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ashish Nehra, Ravichandran Ashwin, Amit Mishra, Imran Tahir, and Yuzvendra Chahal.
Malinga, who is one of the among bowlers who changed the perception of T20 cricket and became one of the early heroes in a batsman-dominated format, has been part of the IPL since the beginning and played a key role in MI’s success in the tournament so far.
The Lankan captain is one of the most threatening bowlers in the format with his skillful variations despite overcoming a string of fitness issues and even helped the MI to win their fourth IPL title with a one-run, last-ball win in the last season of the T20 extravaganza.
Explaining his decision to pick Malinga, Pietersen said the Lankan star bowler’s ability to consistently deliver yorkers and the numbers he has racked up over the years has earned him the coveted award.
Star Sports expert Pietersen 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.”
He signed off by saying, “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.”
(With IANS Inputs)
