Sri Lanka named fast-bowling legend Lasith Malinga their “bowling strategy coach” on Thursday for the eight one-day matches against Australia starting next week.

Sri Lanka Cricket said the 38-year-old’s expertise and experience would be crucial for the three T20 matches and five one-day internationals to be played in Colombo and Kandy.

“(He) will support Sri Lanka’s bowlers, providing tactical insight and technical expertise to help the on-field execution of strategic plans,” the board said.

“Sri Lanka Cricket is confident that Malinga’s vast experience and renowned death-bowling expertise, especially in the T20 format, will help the team immensely going into this all-important series.” Malinga ended his ODI career in July 2019 and played his last T20 in March 2020.

He took 338 ODI wickets and 107 in the T20 format, in addition to 101 Test wickets. The Australian team arrived in Colombo on Wednesday night for an all-format series against Sri Lanka, the first in six years.

They will also play two Tests, both in Galle.