Controversial Sri Lankan spinner Muttiah Muralitharan has set his sights on creating a virtually unsurpassable Test bowling record, saying he is capable of taking more than 600 wickets.
The off-spinner, who turns 32 next month, on Tuesday became the youngest and fastest to reach the magical 500-mark against Australia on his home ground in Kandy, Sri Lanka in his 87th Test.
Retired West Indies paceman Courtney Walsh holds the world record with 519 wickets in 132 Tests, followed by Australian leg-spinner Shane Warne (501/108), who only achieved the feat last week in the previous Test against the hosts at Galle.
Muralitharan said on Tuesday he was capable, health permitting, of going beyond 600 before he quits international cricket. His aim does not sound hollow considering his amazing strike-rate.
”I might finish with about 600-650 Test wickets as I plan to continue playing until the 2007 World Cup. I will have nearly 30 Tests to do that,” he said.
Muralitharan already holds the double world record of 13 hauls of 10 or more wickets in a Test and 41 of five or more scalps in an innings.
Still missing from his impressive list of achievements is a hat-trick and all-10 wickets in a Test innings, but cricket followers believe that the twin feats are not beyond his reach.
”He will get more wickets,” said Sri Lankan captain Hashan Tillakaratne.
”He can do it as he is a great bowler. I have not seen any change in him since he started playing. He is a great teammate. He has the same old passion for the game.”
Muralitharan is one of the most feared spinners in the world, having the extraordinary talent to turn the ball hugely even on flat pitches. His disconcerting bounce also adds to batsmen’s woes.
And he has added a deceptive and highly effective weapon to his armoury: a delivery which leaves the right-handers instead of coming in to them like a traditional off-break.
Pakistani off-spinner Saqlain Mushtaq was the first in recent times to bowl that deceptive ball, but Muralitharan has nearly perfected it.
Muralitharan has played a big role in making Sri Lanka a formidable force in international cricket as he is a match-winner capable of producing wicket-taking balls at unexpected moments.
His successes are celebrated by his fans, but also raise eyebrows in certain quarters. He is an enigma, triggering debates whether he is a true or flawed genius.
His bowling action has come under scrutiny on a few occasions, with Australian umpires thrice calling the Sri Lankan spinner for ”chucking”.
Former India left-arm spinner Bishan Singh Bedi is still unconvinced about the legality of Muralitharan’s bowling action and has gone as far as calling him a ”javelin thrower”.
”If Murali does not chuck, then show me how to bowl,” Bedi once said.
Criticism has, however, failed to crush Muralitharan’s spirit and he continues to tease and torment batsmen all over the world after being cleared of any irregularity by the International Cricket Council.
”I have a deformity on the elbow because it’s bent. I can’t straighten it whatever is said and done. I can’t change me,” he said.
Muralitharan appears to have accepted his fate. He will be criticised; he will be praised; but he can never be ignored. – Sapa-AFP