Malinga replaces Bond as Mumbai Indians' fast-bowling coach for IPL 2024

Lasith Malinga will return to Mumbai Indians for IPL 2024, this time as their fast-bowling coach. He will replace Shane Bond, who had held that position for the past nine seasons.

After retiring in 2021, Malinga had joined Rajasthan Royals in 2022 as their fast-bowling coach, a position he served for two seasons. This will be Malinga's second stint in Mumbai's support staff, having served as their mentor in 2018. A year later, Malinga returned to the field to share the bowling duties with Jasprit Bumrah, with the pair playing a key role in Mumbai winning their fourth IPL title.

Overall, Malinga won five titles with Mumbai: four IPLs (2013, 2015, 2017, 2019) and the Champions League T20 in 2011. Malinga played 139 matches for Mumbai in all, taking 195 wickets at an economy rate of 7.12. Out of those, 170 wickets came in the IPL, the joint-sixth-most in the league.

Bond had joined Mumbai in 2015 and played a key role with Rohit Sharma and Mahela Jayawardene, who served as head coach from 2017 to 2022. It could not be confirmed whether Bond will continue as the head coach of MI Emirates in the ILT20, which started in January this year, where the franchise finished third on the points table in the six-team tournament before losing the second Qualifier to eventual champions Gujarat Giants.

MSK Prasad, the former India wicketkeeper and chief selector, has taken up the role of strategic consultant with the Super Giants franchise, which owns Lucknow Super Giants in the IPL and Durban's Super Giants in the SA20.

Prasad played six Tests and 17 ODIs for India from 1998 to 2000. In 2016, he replaced Sandeep Patil as the chairman of India men's selection committee and served in that role till 2020. Apart from that, he was also the director of cricket operations at the Andhra Cricket Association.

"His involvement at RPSG Sports will be instrumental in providing essential guidance across a spectrum of critical domains as head of talent search, talent development and our academy business," Super Giants said on their website.