Malinga to play for Highveld Lions
2009-12-30
Johannesburg: Sri Lankan pace bowler and Mumbai Indians star Lasith Malinga will play for Highveld Lions in South Africa's Standard Bank Pro20 tournament in February 2010.
This was announced by Alan Kourie, the chief executive of the Highveld Lions.
"We are delighted to confirm that franchise coach Dave Nosworthy has successfully reached an agreement with Lasith Malinga to play in our Pro20 for the coming season.We are thrilled to have someone of Lasith's calibre joining us for what will be a very important season," said Kourie in a statement.
Malinga has been granted permission by Sri Lanka Cricket to play for Highveld Lions.
"I am really looking forward to playing for the Highveld Lions," Malinga said. "I'm very grateful for the opportunity given to me and I hope that I can repay that faith by helping the Lions win the tournament. Playing cricket in South Africa is always a challenge and I'm hopeful the experience will make me a better cricketer," said Malinga.
On his part Highveld Lions coach Dave Nosworthy too is excited about signing up Malinga.
"We wanted a world-class strike bowler and Lasith ticks all the right boxes. He is an outstanding bowler and his performances for the Mumbai Indians and Sri Lanka over the past year show just how valuable he is in the Twenty20 format," said Nosworthy.
http://www.iplt20.com/news/2009/dec/3012-malinga-news.htm