Muttiah Muralitharan, popularly known as “Murali”, is regarded as one of the greatest spin bowlers in the history of cricket. Muralitharan was born on April 17, 1972 in Kandy, Sri Lanka and is a legend of the game. He holds the record for most wickets in Test cricket and One Day International (ODI).
Muralitharan made his international debut in 1992 and quickly established himself as a talented spinner. However, it was in 1995 that he really showed his prowess with a brilliant performance in a Test match against Australia in Colombo.
In that match, Muralitharan took nine wickets for the second half and took 16 wickets overall, which at the time was the best bowling exhibition in the history of Test cricket.
In addition to the player’s stellar performances, Muralitharan’s career has been marred by controversy. His bowling action was considered questionable by many and he was repeatedly called for throwing. But eventually he was cleared by the International Cricket Council and his action was considered legal.
Muralitharan was also a wonderful player in the field of fielding and batting. He achieved remarkable success in all these three fields of cricket.
Apart from controversies, Muralitharan has been active in social work apart from sports. He is also in favor of the rights of Sri Lanka’s Tamil minority. He has also shown activism in many charitable organizations to help the Tamil minority people.
Muralitharan is acknowledged all over the world as a great player who has created many records in the history of cricket.