Retire Malinga’s jersey number 99, says his mentor and childhood coach

By Bipin Dani

Former Sri Lankan fast bowler Champaka Ramanayake believes that the Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) should "retire" the number 99 jersey Lasith Malinga's wore when playing for the national team. 

On Tuesday, the 38-year-old Malinga announced his retirement from all forms of cricket. 

Because of the pandemic, SLC could not felicitate him at the ground. 

"Malinga is a legendary cricketer and his performance on the field of play is unmatchable. It will be a nice thing if the initiative is taken by the board to retire his jersey," Ramanayake, who is a high-performance coach with the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB), said. 

"He has played cricket for more than 17-18 years and he performed amazingly well.”

Ramanayake, who had been Malinga's childhood coach, was not surprised with his decision to retire. 

"He was not on the selectors' radar for some time and was not in the reckoning for the forthcoming World Cup and therefore it was the right decision.” 

"Malinga is a well-experienced cricketer and he should utilize his experience to coach the youngsters. I guess he has eyes on a coaching career in the future."