Lasith Malinga asks Kumar Sangakkara to pick player 'to bat for your life'; RR head coach names Indian legend

In a fun chat with Lasith Malinga, Royals head coach Kumar Sangakkara picked the Indian great to bat for his life and said he's "unbelievable" in that role.

Rajasthan Royals' director of cricket and head coach Kumar Sangakkara had a fun chat with fast bowling coach Lasith Malinga as the two long-time friends discussed a bunch of topics on Thursday. From naming the greatest bowler of all time to sharing cricket superstitions, the Sri Lanka greats spilled the beans on many things in the free-wheeling conversation shared by the Royals. IPL 2022 Full Coverage

Kumar Sangakkara and Lasith Malinga (Twitter/rajasthanroyals)

When Sangakkara was asked about the player he would pick to bat for his life, the keeper-batter didn't hesitate in naming Rahul Dravid. Nicknamed 'The Wall' for his unbreachable defence, Dravid is the fourth-highest run-getter for India in ODIs with 10,768 runs from 340 ODIs at an average of 39.15.

In Tests, he sits just behind Sachin Tendulkar with 13,625 runs at an average of 52.63 in 163 games. Tendulkar has 15,921 runs to his name from 200 matches.

"Rahul Dravid, he's unbelievable in that role," Sangakkara responded to Malinga's question. "'The Wall', there is a reason for that name", he further added.

Malinga then was asked about his favourite memory with Sachin Tendulkar. "When I played my first IPL season in 2009 in South Africa, I got the first wicket on my second ball, caught in the slips by Sachin. This is my most memorable moment with the man," he replied.

Talking about Rajasthan's spell in the ongoing 10-team IPL season, the team is staring at a top-two finish with eight wins to their name so far. A win versus Chennai Super Kings on Friday will move Rajasthan to the second position as they enjoy a superior Net Run Rate (NRR) of 0.304 compared to Lucknow Super Giants' 0.251.

Rajasthan head into the game on the back of a 24-run win over IPL newbies Lucknow. Opener Yashasvi Jaiswal made 41 off 29 balls to guide his team to 178 for six before Trent Boult's 2/18 thwarted the opposition. Lucknow eventually managed to post just 154 for 8 in 20 overs.

Sanju Samson's men have relied heavily on Jos Buttler, who has notched up 627 runs including three hundreds and as many fifties. On the bowling front, tweaker Yuzvendra Chahal is leading the wicket-takers chart with 24 plucks at the moment.

Royals, who won the inaugural Indian Premier League title in 2008 under late Australian legend Shane Warne, have one of the most balanced bowling attacks comprising the likes of Chahal, Ravichandran Ashwin, Prasidh Krishna and Trent Boult. While Ashwin has got 10 wickets under his belt, Krishna and Boult have 15 and 12 scalps respectively.