Muttiah Muralitharan

Lore & Background

Muralitharan was born to a Hill Country Tamil Hindu family in Kandy, Sri Lanka, the eldest of four sons. His paternal grandfather came from South India to work in tea plantations in 1920. At age nine, he was sent to St. Anthony's College, Kandy, where he began as a medium pace bowler but switched to off-spin at fourteen on his school coach's advice. He played for the school First XI for four years, taking over one hundred wickets in his final two seasons and being named 'Bata Schoolboy Cricketer of the Year' in 1990–91. After school, he joined Tamil Union Cricket and Athletic Club and was selected for the Sri Lanka A tour of England in 1991, where he failed to take a wicket. He impressed against Allan Border's Australian team in a practice game and made his Test debut at R. Premadasa Stadium.

His international career was beset by controversy over his bowling action due to an unusual hyperextension of his congenitally bent arm. Umpires and sections of the cricket community called his action into question, but after biomechanical analysis, the International Cricket Council cleared his action in 1996 and again in 1999. He held the number one spot in ICC Test bowler rankings for a record 1,711 days spanning 214 Test matches. He became the highest wicket-taker in Test cricket on 3 December 2007, overtaking Shane Warne, having previously surpassed Courtney Walsh's 519 wickets in 2004 before a shoulder injury allowed Warne to overtake him. He took his 800th and final Test wicket on 22 July 2010 from his final ball. He also surpassed Wasim Akram's ODI record of 502 wickets on 5 February 2009.

Muralitharan married Madhimalar Ramamurthy, a Chennai native, on 21 March 2005; their first child, Naren, was born in January 2006. He holds Overseas Citizenship of India because his family originates from India. He prefers the spelling Muralidaran, as confirmed in 2007 when Cricket Australia unveiled the Warne-Muralidaran Trophy. He played domestic cricket for Tamil Union and Central Province in Sri Lanka, for Lancashire and Kent in England, for Bengal in India, and for Melbourne Renegades in Australia. He also played in the Indian Premier League for Chennai Super Kings, Kochi Tuskers Kerala, and Royal Challengers Bangalore, and was appointed bowling coach and mentor of Sunrisers Hyderabad in 2015.

Reader's Guide

Muttiah Muralitharan's significance lies in his unparalleled wicket-taking record in international cricket, being the only bowler to reach 800 Test wickets and over 530 ODI wickets. His career was marked by persistent controversy over his bowling action, which was ultimately cleared by the International Cricket Council after biomechanical analysis. He was part of the Sri Lankan team that won the 1996 Cricket World Cup and the joint-winners of the 2002 ICC Champions Trophy. He was rated the greatest Test match bowler by Wisden's Cricketers' Almanack in 2002 and became the first Sri Lankan cricketer inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame in 2017. His legacy includes holding the number one spot in ICC Test bowler rankings for a record 1,711 days and being the first wrist-spinning off-spinner in the game. He also won the Ada Derana Sri Lankan of the Year award in 2017. His unique bowling style, with a short run-up and open-chested wristy release, was initially mistaken for leg-spin by Allan Border.

Did You Know?

• Muralitharan is the only bowler to take 800 Test wickets and more than 530 ODI wickets.
• He held the number one spot in ICC Test bowler rankings for a record 1,711 days.
• He prefers the spelling Muralidaran, as confirmed in 2007 for the Warne-Muralidaran Trophy.
• His bowling action was cleared by the ICC in 1996 and again in 1999 after biomechanical analysis.