• Lasith Malinga replaces Shane Bond to join Mumbai Indians as bowling coach for IPL 2024

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    Lasith Malinga replaces Shane Bond to join Mumbai Indians as bowling coach for IPL 2024
    Malinga joined Mumbai Indians in 2009 and played his whole IPL career there. 

    Digital Desk: Lasith Malinga, a former cricketer, has been appointed by Mumbai Indians as their new bowling coach for the 2024 Indian Premier League season. After two years with the former champion Rajasthan Royals, the illustrious Sri Lankan bowler replaces Shane Bond at Mumbai Indians.

    Malinga joined Mumbai Indians in 2009 and played his whole IPL career there. He won the Champions League T20 in 2011 as well as the four IPL championships with Mumbai in 2013, 2015, 2017, and 2019. His initial position on the squad was as a team mentor in 2017, and he returned to bowling before the 2019 season, winning the championship once more.

    In the IPL 2019 final against Chennai Super Kings, he famously bowled the match-winning ball before quitting the competition after 11 years. In 139 total matches for the Mumbai Indians, he took 195 wickets, including 170 in the IPL. Before the 2022 season, when they finished as runners-up, the 39-year-old pacer joined his former national teammate Kumar Sangakkara at Rajasthan Royals. 

    The five-time winners have already begun their preparations for the IPL 2024 even though the competition is still months away. They succeeded in making the IPL 2023 playoffs, although they struggled during the competition. With eight victories and a loss against Gujarat Titans in Qualifier 2, Rohit Sharma's team finished fourth overall.
     
    Mahela Jayawardene was replaced as head coach by veteran South African Mark Boucher, and Kieron Pollard was appointed batting coach before the previous season. Without Jasprit Bumrah and Jofra Archer, the team's bowling arsenal struggled to impress, but there were newcomers from the Mumbai setup in Akash Madhwal and Arjun Tendulkar. 

    In addition to serving as head coach of MI Emirates, the team's sister franchise in ILT20, Shane Bond joined Mumbai Indians in 2015 as a bowling coach.