Muttiah Muralitharan (born April 17, 1972) is a Cricketer from Sri Lanka who played internationally from 1992 to 2011. He made his Test debut in 1992 against Australia and his One-Day International debut was in 1993 against India. Muralitharan is widely considered one of the greatest bowlers of the sport. In 2010, he retired and registered 800th and final wicket on July 2010. He played for Lancashire, Kent, Chennai Super Kings, Kochi Tuskers Kerala, Gloucestershire, Wellington Firebirds, Royal Challengers, Tamil Union, Melbourne Renegades and Jamaica Tallawahs.
Greatest Sporting Achievements
Muralitharan is recorded to be the highest wicket taker in Test (800) and ODI (534) cricket. He broke Wasim Akram’s record of 502 wickets and Shane Warne’s record of 708 wickets in 2007.
Muttiah Muralitharan’s best bowling performance in ODI is 7 for 30 and 9 for 51 for Test cricket. He is one of the best bowlers of the sport, holding the number one spot in the International Cricket Council’s player rankings for Test bowlers for a record period of 1,711 days spanning 214 Test matches.
He is the sixth international franchise player to be signed with the Caribbean Premier League and the first Sri Lankan player to be named to the new Twenty20 tournament.
Why Is He So Good?
Muttiah Muralitharan has a unique though very successful bowling action. Because of that, he became the Wisden Leading Cricketer in the World in 2000 and 2006. He went from strength to strength and continued to baffle batsmen.
What You May Not Know
- His name “Muralitharan” means “the bearer of the flute”.
- Before fame, he was the Bata Schoolboy Cricketer of the Year in St. Anthony’s College.
- Muttiah Muralitharan is the first sportsman in Sri Lanka to be felicitated by the Parliament of Sri Lanka.
- The Central Provincial Council in Kandy renamed the International Cricket Stadium in Pallekele after him.
- He, alongside his manager Kushil Gunasekara, founded the Foundation of Goodness – a foundation for helping the wellbeing of the Seenigama region and support local communities through a range of projects across area like children’s needs, education, health care, psycho-social support, training, housing, livelihood, environment and sports.
Related Pages
- More cricket players
- About Cricket
- Athlete Database home