IPL 2021: It’s been an honour playing alongside you – Jasprit Bumrah pays tribute to Lasith Malinga

India’s gun fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah has taken giant strides in his career thus far. Bumrah is currently one of the best bowlers in the world and Sri Lanka’s veteran fast bowler Lasith Malinga has played a key role in his development. Both Bumrah and Malinga have been a force to reckon with in the IPL and they have played a key role in the success of the Mumbai Indians over the years.

As Lasith Malinga announced his retirement from franchise cricket, Bumrah paid his tribute to his guru. Bumrah stated that it’s been an honour to play alongside Malinga and pick his brain. The ace paceman feels the IPL won’t be the same without Malinga.

Meanwhile, Lasith Malinga is the most successful bowler in the IPL. Malinga scalped 170 wickets in 122 matches at an impressive average of 19.8 and a strike rate of 16.6. The Lankan legend conceded his runs at an economy rate of 7.14.

Malinga has been playing for Mumbai Indians since 2009 and has missed only two seasons for the five-time champions since then. The Lankan talisman was the team’s mentor in the 2018 edition and then missed the 2020 season due to personal reasons amid the coronavirus pandemic.

On the other hand, Malinga and Bumrah have shared a great bonhomie with each other. Bumrah has time and again credited Malinga for his rise at the top level.

The Indian fast bowler took to his Twitter account to pay tribute to his Mumbai Indians teammate. The post read as, “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”.

Meanwhile, Mumbai Indians skipper Rohit Sharma also congratulated Lasith Malinga on a successful IPL career. MI have also released players like Nathan Coulter-Nile and James Pattinson.