"MY TIME IS UP, I HAVE TO GO", LASITH MALINGA'S EMOTIONAL FAREWELL SPEECH UPON RETIREMENT.

Yorker King Lasith Malinga bagged three wickets in his final One-day International match against Bangladesh at Home leading his team to a 91 run victory. He was then awarded Man of the Match along with a few awards from Sri Lanka Cricket upon farewell.

Following the game, Malinga gave an emotional farewell speech about his Cricketing journey. “I played the last 15 years for Sri Lanka. It is really an honour to play for all the crowd that’s been behind me. I feel this is the time I have to move on as we have to build the team for the 2023 World Cup. I realise that my time is up and I have to go”, he said.

Advising the young bowlers, he further said, “I tried my best all through my career. I hope all the young bowlers do this as well. You have to be a match-winner to survive in Cricket. You have to give match-winning performances that people should start citing you as a match-winning bowler. We have a couple of guys, they have the ability, we have to look after them.”

The 35-year-old gave his ODI debut in 2004 against the United Arab Emirates. He has played 226 ODI’s in total and holds an average of 28.87 from 338 wickets which includes 11 four-wicket and 8 five-wicket hauls. He is the tenth highest wicket-taker in ODI history and the seventh highest among fast bowlers.

Mumbai Indians Captain Rohit Sharma and star bowler Jasprit Bumrah have tweeted a heart touching message for Malinga.

“If I had to pick one match winner among many others for @mipaltan in the last decade, this man will be on the top for sure. As a captain he give me breather during tense situation and he never failed to deliver, such was his presence within the team. Best wishes LM for the future.”, Rohit’s tweet read.

Bumrah, on the other hand, wrote, “Classic Mali spell Thank you for everything you’ve done for cricket. Always admired you and will always continue to do so.”