Lasith Malinga set to join Sri Lankan team ahead of T20 World Cup 2026

Former Sri Lankan fast bowler Lasith Malinga has returned to the Sri Lankan team with a special role to prepare the team for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026.

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Lasith Malinga joins Sri Lankan team as fast bowling consultant for short term

The 42-year-old legendary Lankan fast bowler Lasith Malinga has been appointed as the fast bowling consultant of the Sri Lankan team. It is a short-term contract that will run between December 15, 2025, and January 25, 2026. The fast bowler will prepare the Sri Lankan team for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026.

SLC officially stated, "Sri Lanka Cricket aims to leverage Malinga's vast international experience and renowned expertise in death bowling, particularly in the shortest format of the game to strengthen Sri Lanka's preparations for the upcoming World Cup.”

Before the T20 World Cup 2026, Sri Lanka will host Pakistan for a three-match T20I series. 

Sri Lanka will co-host the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 along with India. The tournament will run from February 7 to March 8, 2026. It will be the second time Sri Lanka will host the T20 World Cup, as they hosted it in the 2012 edition, where they became the first hosts to reach the T20 World Cup Final and finished as the runners-up. 

Sri Lanka won only T20 World Cup under Lasith Malinga's captaincy

Under Lasith Malinga’s leadership, Sri Lanka won their only T20 World Cup in the 2014 edition in Bangladesh, when they beat India in the Final by six wickets. 

In his international career between 2004 and 2020, Lasith Malinga played 30 Tests, 226 ODIs, and 84 T20Is, where the right-arm fast bowler recorded 101, 338, and 107 wickets, respectively. He was the first cricketer to record 100 T20I wickets as well as 100 wickets in each of three international formats. He recorded five international hat-tricks, including three in ODIs and two in T20Is. With 546 wickets, Malinga sits in the third position in the list of most wickets by a Sri Lankan bowler in international cricket history. 

After retiring from all forms of game in 2021, Malinga became a regular coach, who experienced to handle the IPL teams Mumbai Indians, Rajasthan Royals, and the other league teams MI Cape Town (SA20) and MI New York (ILT20). He also previously worked as a bowling strategy coach for the Sri Lankan national cricket team.