Mumbai Indians have been handed a big boost ahead of their 2019 Indian Premier League clash with Kings XI Punjab on Wednesday with Lasith Malinga joining the team camp after flying in from Sri Lanka.

The veteran pacer had initially returned to Sri Lanka to participate in the ongoing Super Four Provincial One-Day tournament following the completion of Mumbai’s win over Chennai Super Kings a week ago.

Malinga had taken the field in Sri Lanka for his side Galle less than 12 hours after picking up a three-wicket haul against CSK in Mumbai and finished with figures of 7-49 to lead them to a 156-run win over Kandy in the campaign opener.

On Tuesday, Malinga flew back to Mumbai from Colombo on the eve of the clash against Kings XI and was seen bowling in the team nets later in the day. His return bolsters an impressive pace attack already containing Jasprit Bumrah, Jason Behrendorrf and Alzarri Joseph who picked up 6-12 on his IPL debut against Sunrisers Hyderabad.

With Malinga’s provincial side Galle slated to play the final of the One-Day tournament on Thursday, the 35-year-old is expected to fly back immediately to Colombo after the completion of Mumbai’s clash against KXIP at the Wankhede stadium.

It will continue a whirlwind last few days for the veteran pacer who has been putting in the hard yards to juggle both his IPL and domestic cricket commitments at the same time.

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