Murali keen to play T20
Spinner Muttiah Muralitharan announced he was eager to continue
playing Twenty20 and country cricket for another two or three years just
days after ending his test career with a record haul.
The Sri Lankan retired from five-day internationals last month after
becoming the first player to claim 800 test victims with his last ever
delivery in the longest form of the game.
Less than three weeks later, he has turned his sights on helping Sri
Lanka win their second one-day World Cup when they co-host the event
with India and Bangladesh next year.
“I’ve told the Sri Lankan selectors that if they really want me for
the World Cup, then I will play.
Otherwise I will play Twenty20 for another two or three years and
some county cricket,” Muralitharan told Reuters on Tuesday.
Muralitharan said his decision to retire from test cricket had not
been due to any physical problems but rather a desire to leave whilst
still at the top of his game.
“I believe I could have played for another two or three years but I
thought I should retire on a high. I wanted people to be asking why I
have gone and not why I am still playing, that’s why I retired now,” the
38-year-old said at the launch of the Champions League Twenty20
competition.
“Spin bowling is a difficult art but I believe it’s important in any
format of the game. People are wrong when they say spinners are not
effective in Twenty20, spinners have dominated the last two IPLs (Indian
Premier League).”
Muralitharan will be playing for the Chennai Super Kings in the
competition contested by the 10 teams which reached the finals of their
domestic Twenty20 tournaments.
Although Muralitharan enjoyed a fairytale ending to his test career,
with his haul spurring the Sri Lankans to victory in the first test
against India, the spinner admitted that for a while he thought he would
end his career stranded on 799 wickets.
“I needed eight wickets in the last test. I trusted myself as I have
always done well in Galle, but deep down ... (when) the batsmen were
just blocking, I was getting frustrated. I thought ‘that’s it, I’m going
to end with 799 wickets’.”
The Champions League runs from Sept. 10 to 26.
Reuters
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