Former cricketers name Sri Lanka pacer Lasith Malinga as greatest bowler of IPL
Lasith Malinga was bestowed the honour by Kevin Pietersen, Dean Jones, Mathew Hayden, Aakash Chopra, Graeme Smith, Simon Doull, Ian Bishop and Tom Moody.
In Short
- Lasith Malinga has played for Mumbai Indians since the beginning of IPL
- Malinga is the most-successful bowler in IPL with 170 wickets in 122 matches
- Malinga pipped the likes of Dale Steyn, Sunil Narine and Jasprit Bumrah for the honour
Sri Lanka and Mumbai Indians pace spearhead Lasith Malinga was rated as greatest bowler in the history of Indian Premier League (IPL) by his contemporaries, who are also commentators.
Malinga, who has played for the defending champions since the beginning, was bestowed the honour by Star Sports, commentators includes Kevin Pietersen, Dean Jones, Mathew Hayden, Aakash Chopra, Graeme Smith, Simon Doull, Ian Bishop and Tom Moody.
The highest wicket-taker in the tournament with 170 wickets in 122 matches, Malinga has been one of those legends who changed the perception of T20 cricket and became one of the early heroes in a batsman-dominated format.
The Sri Lankan veteran, part of an elite 10-bowler nominee list, pipped the likes of Dale Steyn, Ashish Nehra, Sunil Narine and Jasprit Bumrah for the award.
Former England captain Pietersen backed his decision to choose Malinga for the coveted award.
"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.
"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," he said.
Malinga, the first Sri Lankan to claim four wickets in four deliveries, also beat Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ashish Nehra, Ravichandran Ashwin, Amit Mishra, Imran Tahir and Yuzvendra Chahal, who were also part of the nominee list.