Sunrisers Hyderabad’s march into the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 playoffs has been driven by several standout performers, but few stories have captured attention like that of Sri Lankan pacer Eshan Malinga.
The 25-year-old right-arm fast-medium bowler from Sivali Central College, Ratnapura, has emerged as SRH’s leading wicket-taker this season with 19 wickets in 14 matches, becoming a key pillar of their bowling attack. Alongside young pacer Sakib Hussain, who has claimed 15 wickets in 10 games in his debut season, Malinga has played a major role in guiding Hyderabad into the knockout stage.
What has made Malinga’s rise even more remarkable is the praise he has earned from SRH captain Pat Cummins, widely regarded as one of the finest fast bowlers in world cricket.
“They’ve been fantastic. I’ve actually learned a lot off those guys as well,” Cummins said while speaking about Malinga and Sakib Hussain.
“The way Eshan bowled all season, particularly in that powerplay, he’s been the form bowler of the competition, with his slower balls and mixing up different things. Of course, Sakib is there as well, so captain’s dream.”
Although Malinga featured in seven matches during IPL 2025 and picked up 13 wickets, he largely remained an underrated figure. However, the ongoing season has transformed him into one of the most dependable bowlers in the SRH camp, regularly dismissing some of the biggest names in white-ball cricket.
Speaking about the team’s mindset, Malinga said calmness and simplicity have been central to their success.
“During the matches, we have a chat with the bowling coach and the other players, trying to play our calm game sticking to the basics,” he said.
“Our pace attack, we are not taking much pressure on us because it’s a do or die game. With that mindset, we are going to the ground and we execute that bowling.”
He also praised Sakib Hussain’s fearless approach.
“Sakib also, he is a very good potential bowler. He always says that I am going to play like a tennis ball match. That’s the calm mindset we have.”
Behind the success story lies a journey filled with sacrifice and hardship.
Malinga revealed that there was a stage where he almost gave up cricket to support his family.
“I tried to stop playing cricket because I wanted to look after my family. My father was a tuk driver, but the family members said no, you don’t give up, we can look after you,” he recalled.
Coming from Ratnapura, an area not traditionally known for producing cricketers, Malinga’s pathway was far from straightforward. He only began playing hard-ball cricket at the age of 18 after growing up with tennis-ball cricket.
“We had a schools’ big match, which was my first hard-ball game. I got the Man of the Match award. After that people started calling me ‘Opanayake Express’ after the village I come from,” he said.
His progress was halted by a serious back injury that kept him out of cricket for nearly one and a half years. Yet, the setback only strengthened his determination.
Encouraged by his mother, Malinga entered a competition to find Sri Lanka’s fastest Under-19 bowler despite doubting his own pace.
“In the first selection, I bowled at 127, and in the final selection, I got to 141,” he said. “I was the Under-19 fastest bowler in that competition.”
The journey from Ratnapura to the IPL playoffs was built on relentless sacrifice. Malinga often travelled for hours by bus to Colombo just to work as a net bowler with the Sri Lankan national team.
“It was a very difficult three to four-hour journey. I travelled by bus. I had a dream to play for my country,” he said.
Today, that dream is rapidly becoming reality, with the “Opanayake Express” now one of the most exciting Sri Lankan fast bowlers on the global T20 stage.
