Ahead of the first T20I of the three-match series against India, Sri Lanka skipper Lasith Malinga on Saturday was all praises for Jasprit Bumrah and said that he is happy to see his Mumbai Indians teammate doing well for his country.
Both Malinga and Bumrah are team-mates at Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League (IPL) and the Indian pacer has always credited Malinga for helping him on how to deal with pressure situations.
"He is the number one bowler right now. He has skill and accuracy. These two things are very important for an international bowler. He is coming after an injury. I am really happy that Bumrah is doing well for his country. We are team-mates in Mumbai Indians, as a team. We are looking forward to facing him," Malinga told reporters.
"I can pass all the information about his skill to my team-mates, but in the end, the honours lie upon the batsmen to play him nicely. Bowlers can win the T20 matches. According to me, they are more crucial than the batsmen," he added.
Asked about his retirement from the shortest format of the game, Malinga said, "We have to play qualifiers in the T20 World Cup. If I play that and the side qualifies for the World Cup, I can retire any time after that. I do not mind it."
The Sri Lankan skipper also said that Indian players have more exposure when it comes to playing T20 games. He added that opportunities will be provided to the youngsters to showcase their skills against India.
"One over can change the momentum in a T20 match. Our players did not have much experience in playing the shortest format of the game. Indian players have much more exposure as they have IPL here. But I want to give opportunities to all young players in our side in the coming two months. It is an important series for us," Malinga said.
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"If we are chopping and changing (the team squad), players can get confused. It is important to give the players security. This is the time we need to back them, T20 World Cup is near and so we need to back all the members of our squad," he added.
Malinga asserted that his side would find it difficult to beat India in the T20I series, as he said that the Men in Blue are the best side currently in the shortest format of the game.
Sri Lanka and India will lock horns in the first T20I of the three-match series on Sunday.