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Many cricket players throughout the world have had illustrious careers. A great example is the former player Muttiah Muralitharan from Sri Lanka, also known as Murali. He’s been retired for over a decade, but he continues to be recognised as one of the best cricketers thanks to his many impressive achievements.
Players like Muralitharan are a big part of cricket’s success. They make the sport exciting and encourage other people to watch matches and play the sport themselves. Some people go further by practising online betting. They become fans of cricket and want to try their luck at placing bets on the sport. With that said, here are 10 things to know about Muttiah Muralitharan and his cricket career.
Select World Records and Achievements
Muralitharan is regarded as one of the world’s best ever cricket players thanks in part to the many records he broke during his professional playing career. Here’s a selection of them:
- The highest number of Test wickets (800)
- The greatest number of One Day International wickets (534)
- More Man of the Series awards in Test cricket (11) than any other player
- Most balls bowled in an international cricket career (63,132)
- Most five wicket hauls playing internationally (77)
- Retaining the number one spot on the International Cricket Council’s player rankings for longer than anyone else (1,711 days)
- First Sri Lankan player to be inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame
These are just some of the many records Muralitharan broke and the achievements he made. They give you an idea of just how prolific and successful a player he was.
Bowling Style Controversy
Throughout his career, Muralitharan attracted attention for the way he bowled. In fact, he was cited (and subsequently cleared) three times because people suspected he was straightening his bowling arm during delivery, which goes against the rules of cricket. His bowling style was first called into question during a Test match in Australia in 1995, during which the umpire no-balled him seven times.
Reception in Australia
Even though Muralitharan was formally cleared of breaking any rules due to his bowling style, the way he threw the ball didn’t go down well in Australia. He was heckled at matches and in 2004 said that he wouldn’t take part in future matches in the country because of the way he’d been treated. However, a few years later he was involved in an egg-throwing incident during the 2008 Commonwealth Bank Series. With the incident taking place at night, it wasn’t certain whether Muralitharan was the target, though it was enough to put him off visiting again.
Good Causes
In the early 2000s, Muralitharan set up the charitable organisation Foundation of Goodness along with his then manager Kushil Gunasekara. Its aim is to help communities in the South Sri Lankan region of Seenigama, donating funds to a range of projects related to healthcare, housing, sport, education and children’s needs. He’s also worked as an ambassador for the United Nations World Food Program to help prevent hunger among school children.
800
In 2023, the Tamil-language biographical sports film 800 was released. Named after the number of Test wickets Muralitharan notched up throughout his career, the film looks at his life both on and off the cricket field, with Madhur Mittal playing the former cricket player in his adult years. Two child actors play him at the ages of six and 12. The film, which runs for just over two and a half hours, looks at how Muralitharan, an ethnic Tamil, had to prove his loyalty to the Sri Lankan team. It also goes into detail about the controversy surrounding his bowling style.
Domestic Teams
It’s common for sports professionals to play for multiple teams throughout their careers. Muralitharan is no exception. From 1991 to 2013, he played for a total of 11 different domestic teams, starting with Tamil Union and ending with Jamaica Tallawahs. Some of the other teams he joined included Lancashire, Chennai Super Kings, Wellington Firebirds and Royal Challengers Bangalore.
Attraction to Cricket
Muralitharan was born in 1972 in Kandy, Sri Lanka, and started attending the private St. Anthony’s College, run by Benedictine monks, at the age of nine. While here, he developed an interest in cricket and started playing the sport, initially acting as a medium pace bowler. When he was 14, his coach advised him to take up the off-spin style of bowling that would later cause issues in his professional career. Still, Muralitharan ended his time at secondary school as a top cricketer, taking over 100 wickets in his last two seasons.
Career Highlight and Regrets
When Muralitharan announced his retirement in July 2010, he said his greatest achievement as a cricketer was winning the World Cup in 1996 when playing for the Sri Lankan national team. Conversely, he admitted to having some regrets about his career, namely never winning Test matches in Australia, India or South Africa.
Post-Retirement Work
Since retiring from professional cricket, Muralitharan has taken up a number of jobs in the cricket industry. He became bowling coach for the Sunrisers Hyderabad in 2015 and helped the team become Indian Premier League champions the following year. He’s also worked as a coaching consultant for the Australian national team and as a consultant on spin bowling for the Cricket Association of Bengal.
Appreciation and Recognition
Muralitharan has been widely recognised for his success as a cricketer. The International Cricket Stadium in Kandy, Sri Lanka, was renamed in his honour. The country’s parliament has formally honoured Muralitharan in its Supreme Legislature; it’s the first time a sportsman has been given an honour by Sri Lanka in this way. He’s also been featured on a stamp in Sri Lanka and has a portrait hanging at Lord’s Cricket Ground in St John’s Wood, Westminster, which is owned by Marylebone Cricket Club.
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