New Delhi: India pacer Jasprit Bumrah on Thursday congratulated Lasith Malinga on his retirement from franchise cricket and said the Indian Premier League (IPL) will not be the same without him.
Bumrah said it was an honour to play alongside Malinga and learn from him.
"It's been an honour playing alongside you and picking your brain all these years, Mali. Congratulations on a successful career, the IPL won't be the same without you. @mipaltan," Bumrah tweeted.
Mumbai Indians revealed that Malinga decided to retire from franchise cricket and that is why the side did not retain him for IPL 2021.
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👀 Malinga is staring down. He lifts his hand up and kisses the ball. Wankhede is echoing with MA-LIN-GA MA-LIN-GA as he picks up momentum in his run up. He slings and bowls. The ball moves, dips and finds the base of the stump through the batsman’s defence. 🎯 pic.twitter.com/kFe7H8JSt9
— Mumbai Indians (@mipaltan) January 20, 2021 " class="align-text-top noRightClick twitterSection" data="
">👀 Malinga is staring down. He lifts his hand up and kisses the ball. Wankhede is echoing with MA-LIN-GA MA-LIN-GA as he picks up momentum in his run up. He slings and bowls. The ball moves, dips and finds the base of the stump through the batsman’s defence. 🎯 pic.twitter.com/kFe7H8JSt9
— Mumbai Indians (@mipaltan) January 20, 2021👀 Malinga is staring down. He lifts his hand up and kisses the ball. Wankhede is echoing with MA-LIN-GA MA-LIN-GA as he picks up momentum in his run up. He slings and bowls. The ball moves, dips and finds the base of the stump through the batsman’s defence. 🎯 pic.twitter.com/kFe7H8JSt9
— Mumbai Indians (@mipaltan) January 20, 2021
Following Sri Lanka bowling spearhead Malinga's decision to retire from franchise cricket, Mumbai Indians came up with an emotional message for the bowler.
Mumbai Indians thanked Malinga for the memorable moments that the pacer gave the team, especially on the final ball of a championship match. The Mumbai based franchise paid tribute with a short video in which chants of MA-LIN-GA MA-LIN-GA could be heard, recreating the Wankhede experience.
Defending champions Mumbai Indians on Wednesday retained their core-group and released seven players including Malinga, Nathan Coulter-Nile, and James Pattinson for the 2021 edition of the IPL.
Record five-time IPL title holders now have 18 players in their squad with seven spots open which can be filled in the mini-auction. MI can pick as many as four overseas players for the next season. The defending champions have backed their core players who helped them lift the IPL trophy in back-to-back seasons.
Retained players: Rohit Sharma, Quinton de Kock (WK), Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan (WK), Chris Lynn, Anmolpreet Singh, Saurabh Tiwary, Aditya Tare (WK), Kieron Pollard, Hardik Pandya, Krunal Pandya, Anukul Roy, Jasprit Bumrah, Trent Boult, Rahul Chahar, Jayant Yadav, Dhawal Kulkarni, Mohsin Khan.
Released players: Lasith Malinga, Mitch McClenaghan, James Pattinson, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Sherfane Rutherford, Prince Balwant Rai, Digvijay Deshmukh.
