Mumbai Indians (MI) all-rounder Hardik Pandya took to Twitter to wish Sri Lankan seamer and Indian Premier League (IPL) teammate Lasith Malinga on his 37th birthday. "Mali. Happy birthday legend. Let's get to work soon," Hardik Pandya captioned the post. The tweet had four images which showed the players interacting and celebrating. The Team India cricketer is currently in quarantine in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) with the Mumbai Indians squad, who are expected to start training in the coming days.
Malinga had earlier received wishes from his home franchise as well. "195 wickets. 5 trophies. Countless toe-crushers. Here's to more of this in the MI Blue & Gold. Happy birthday to one of our very own, Lasith Malinga," said the MI Twitter handle.
Malinga was recently in the news following some advice from Sachin Tendulkar, over his style of bowling. The pacer is seen kissing the ball before running up to bowl a delivery, which Tendulkar believed would require some rethinking following the new rules of the International Cricket Council (ICC), forcing a complete ban on the usage of saliva.
The ex-Team India batsman took to Twitter to post a picture of Malinga with a caption which read: "A certain someone will have to also change his run up routine with the new @icc rules! What say Mali? #LasithMalinga".
Former cricketer Yuvraj Singh further wished the Sri Lankan, labelling his consistency with lethal yorkers and the colour of his hair to be at the same level.
This was followed by greetings from spinner Harbhajan Singh, who termed Malinga as the "biggest match-winner" in the T20 format.
The 13th season of the cash-rich league will get underway on September 19, after being delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic. Chennai Super Kings (CSK) will take on MI in the opening clash of the tournament.