IPL 2022: Fantastic bunch of players who can be future Indian stars, says Rajasthan Royals' bowling coach Lasith Malinga

Lasith Malinga, who led his country to the 2014 ICC T20 World Cup trophy, will be working during the upcoming season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) with the talented group of pacers at Rajasthan Royals. Reacting to joining the Royals as their bowling coach, the 38-year-old said, "It is certainly a new thing for me to get into coaching and pass on my experience to the younger players. I have played this role before with Mumbai, and now I'm delighted to be working with Rajasthan Royals. It is a new place for me, but I'm enjoying my role so far working with such a talented group of bowlers." Asked what his thoughts were about his new franchise, Malinga said, "The first thing that always stayed with me was the colour - pink. I always saw the team had good international and local players, and whenever I used to face them, it was tough. I think they were always very competitive and could beat any team on their day."

Having been associated with Mumbai for 13 seasons, Malinga, who was famous for his toe-crushing yorkers with a sling-arm action, also recalled how the move to Royals came about. "It was actually last year that Kumar (Sangakkara) asked me if I was interested. But with Covid and all the bubble restrictions, I didn't want to stay away from my family. But this year, having also worked with the Sri Lankan team, I felt I could use my experience and give back to the game that I love, by working with this group of players," expressed IPL's highest wicket-taker. The Sri Lankan legend also spoke about the Royals' new pace attack. "I think we have a fantastic pace attack. You've got experienced overseas players like (Trent) Boult and (Nathan) Coulter-Nile, with whom I've worked before. Then we've got genuine Indian fast