Muttiah Muralitharan facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Muttiah Muralitharan

Muralitharan at the CEAT Cricket Ratings Awards in February 2013
Personal information
Born	(1972-04-17) 17 April 1972 (age 53) Kandy, Sri Lanka
Nickname	Murali
Height	5 ft 7 in (1.70 m)
Batting	Right-handed
Bowling	Right-arm off break
Role	Bowler
International information
National side	Sri Lanka (1992–2011)
Test debut (cap 54)	28 August 1992 v Australia
Last Test	18 July 2010 v India
ODI debut (cap 70)	12 August 1993 v India
Last ODI	2 April 2011 v India
ODI shirt no.	8
T20I debut (cap 13)	22 December 2006 v New Zealand
Last T20I	31 October 2010 v Australia
Domestic team information
Years	Team
1991/92–2009/10	Tamil Union
1999, 2001, 2005, 2007	Lancashire
2003	Kent
2008–2010	Chennai Super Kings
2011	Kochi Tuskers Kerala
2011–2012	Gloucestershire
2011/12	Wellington Firebirds
2011/12	Chittagong Kings
2012–2014	Royal Challengers Bangalore
2012/13–2013/14	Melbourne Renegades
2013	Jamaica Tallawahs
Career statistics
Competition Test ODI FC LA Matches 133 350 232 453 Runs scored 1,256 674 2,192 945 Batting average 11.67 6.80 11.35 7.32 100s/50s 0/1 0/0 0/1 0/0 Top score 67 33* 67 33* Balls bowled 44,039 18,811 66,933 23,734 Wickets 800 534 1,374 682 Bowling average 22.72 23.08 19.64 22.39 5 wickets in innings 67 10 119 12 10 wickets in match 22 0 34 0 Best bowling 9/51 7/30 9/51 7/30 Catches/stumpings 72/– 130/– 123/– 159/–
Medal record Men's Cricket Representing  Sri Lanka ICC Cricket World Cup Winner 1996 India-Pakistan-Sri Lanka Runner-up 2007 West Indies Runner-up 2011 India–Bangladesh–Sri Lanka
Source: ESPNcricinfo, 8 January 2014

Deshabandu Muttiah Muralitharan (born 17 April 1972), often called Murali, is a famous Sri Lankan cricketer and coach. Many people think he is one of the greatest bowlers in cricket history. He is the only bowler to take 800 wickets in Test cricket and over 530 wickets in One Day International (ODI) matches. As of 2024, he has taken more wickets in international cricket than anyone else. Muralitharan was a key player when Sri Lanka won the 1996 Cricket World Cup.

During his career, some people questioned his bowling action. This was because his arm looked bent when he bowled. However, after special tests, the International Cricket Council (ICC) confirmed his action was fair.

Muralitharan was ranked the number one Test bowler by the ICC for a very long time. He broke the record for most Test wickets in 2007, passing Shane Warne. He also broke the record for most ODI wickets in 2009, passing Wasim Akram. Muralitharan retired from Test cricket in 2010, taking his 800th wicket with his very last ball in his final Test match.

In 2002, Wisden's Cricketers' Almanack called him the greatest Test bowler. In 2017, he became the first Sri Lankan cricketer to join the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame.

Early Life and Family

Muttiah Muralitharan was born on 17 April 1972 in Kandy, Sri Lanka. He grew up in a Hill Country Tamil Hindu family. He is the oldest of four sons. His father runs a successful biscuit-making business. His grandfather came to Sri Lanka from South India in 1920 to work on tea plantations.

When he was nine, Muralitharan went to St. Anthony's College, Kandy, a private school. He first started as a fast bowler. But his coach, Sunil Fernando, told him to try off spin when he was 14. He quickly became very good at it. He played for his school's top team for four years. In his last two years, he took over 100 wickets and was named 'Bata Schoolboy Cricketer of the Year'.

After school, he joined the Tamil Union Cricket and Athletic Club. He then played for Sri Lanka A in England in 1991. He made his Test debut against Australia in 1992.

Muralitharan married Madhimalar Ramamurthy from Chennai, India, on 21 March 2005. Their son, Naren, was born in January 2006. Muralitharan has Overseas Citizenship of India because his family came from India. This means he does not need a visa to visit India.

Understanding His Name

Even though his name is often written as Muralitharan, he prefers "Muralidaran". This is because a letter in the Tamil language can sound like both 't' and 'd'. In 2007, when Australia and Sri Lanka created the new Warne-Muralidaran Trophy, Muralitharan confirmed his preferred spelling.

Playing for Clubs

Muralitharan bowling for Gloucestershire in 2011.

Muralitharan played for several cricket clubs in Sri Lanka and other countries.

Playing in Sri Lanka

In Sri Lanka, he played for the Tamil Union Cricket and Athletic Club and Central Province. He had an amazing record, taking 234 wickets in 46 matches.

Playing in England

He also played for county teams in England, mostly for Lancashire. He played 28 first-class games for them. He also played five games for Kent in 2003. His bowling record in England was also excellent, with 236 wickets in 33 matches.

Playing in India

In 2008, Muralitharan joined the Chennai Super Kings in the Indian Premier League (IPL). He was bought for $600,000. In 2010, his team won the IPL championship. He was their top wicket-taker.

In 2011, he moved to Kochi Tuskers Kerala. In 2012, he joined Royal Challengers Bangalore, taking 14 wickets in 9 games. He played for them until 2014, when he retired from the IPL.

After retiring as a player, Muralitharan became the bowling coach for Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL in 2015.

Playing in Australia

Muralitharan also played Twenty20 cricket for the Melbourne Renegades in Australia's Big Bash League in 2012. He wanted to experience playing in Australia.

International Cricket Career

A graph showing Muralitharan's Test career bowling statistics and how they have varied over time

Muralitharan is known for his unique bowling style. He is the first "wrist-spinning off-spinner" in cricket history. He bowls with a short run-up and uses his wrist a lot to spin the ball. Besides his main off-break delivery, he also bowls a fast topspinner and the doosra. The doosra is a surprise ball that turns the opposite way. His very flexible wrist helps him spin the ball on any pitch.

He took 800 Test wickets and over 500 One Day International wickets. He is the first player to take more than 1,000 wickets in total in international cricket.

Test Cricket Highlights

Muralitharan made his Test debut on 28 August 1992 against Australia. He took 3 wickets in that match. In August 1993, he took his first five-wicket haul in Tests against South Africa.

The "Throwing" Controversy

On Boxing Day 1995, during a match against Australia, umpire Darrell Hair called Muralitharan for "throwing" (an illegal bowling action). Hair called him seven times in three overs. The Sri Lankan captain, Arjuna Ranatunga, was very upset and even took Muralitharan off the attack for a while.

After the match, the ICC investigated. They did special tests and found that his arm only looked bent. They said his action was legal and cleared him in 1996 and again in 1999. This showed that his unique action was natural and fair.

Breaking Records

On 16 March 1997, Muralitharan became the first Sri Lankan to take 100 Test wickets. In August 1998, he had his best Test match figures, taking 16 wickets against England. He took 9 wickets for 65 runs in one innings, helping Sri Lanka win their first Test in England.

In December 2000, he reached 300 Test wickets in his 58th Test. In January 2002, he almost took all 10 wickets in an innings against Zimbabwe, but a catch was dropped. He still finished with 9 wickets. He became the fastest and youngest bowler to reach 400 wickets in January 2002.

On 16 March 2004, he reached 500 wickets in his 87th Test. He was much faster than Shane Warne, who took 108 Tests to reach 500. In May 2004, Muralitharan passed Courtney Walsh's record of 519 Test wickets to become the highest wicket-taker. However, he got injured, and Shane Warne soon took over the record.

In 2006, Muralitharan had an amazing year, taking 60 wickets in six Tests. He was named the Wisden Leading Cricketer in the World. In July 2007, he became the second bowler after Warne to take 700 Test wickets.

On 3 December 2007, Muralitharan reclaimed the record for most Test wickets. He bowled England's Paul Collingwood to take his 709th Test wicket, passing Shane Warne. He reached this in 116 Tests, 29 fewer than Warne. Many believed he could reach 1,000 wickets.

Test Wicket Milestones

Number	Batsman	Method	Team	Test #	Notes
1st	Craig McDermott	lbw	Australia	1195
100th	Stephen Fleming	bowled	New Zealand	1359
200th	Dominic Cork	caught Romesh Kaluwitharana	England	1423
300th	Shaun Pollock	caught Tillakaratne Dilshan	South Africa	1526
400th	Henry Olonga	bowled	Zimbabwe	1585
500th	Michael Kasprowicz	bowled	Australia	1688
520th	Mluleki Nkala	caught Mahela Jayawardene	Zimbabwe	1698	Broke Courtney Walsh's world record
600th	Khaled Mashud	caught Lasith Malinga	Bangladesh	1786
700th	Syed Rasel	caught Farveez Maharoof	Bangladesh	1839
709th	Paul Collingwood	bowled	England	1851	Broke Shane Warne's world record
800th	Pragyan Ojha	caught Mahela Jayawardene	India	1964	His final delivery in Test cricket

One Day Internationals

Muralitharan bowling to Adam Gilchrist in an ODI in 2006.

Muralitharan made his One Day International (ODI) debut on 12 August 1993 against India. In October 2000, he took 7 wickets for 30 runs against India, which was one of the best bowling figures in ODIs at the time.

In April 2002, he reached his highest ever ODI bowling rating of 913 points. This is the highest rating for any spin bowler in ODI history.

Muralitharan played in five Cricket World Cup tournaments (1996, 1999, 2003, 2007, and 2011). He took 67 World Cup wickets, second only to Glenn McGrath. He was part of the Sri Lankan team that won the 1996 World Cup. He also played in the 2007 and 2011 World Cup finals.

On 5 February 2009, Muralitharan broke Wasim Akram's record for most career wickets in One Day Internationals. Akram had 502 wickets, and Muralitharan passed that number. He won 13 "Man of the Match" awards in ODIs.

Batting Skills

Muralitharan usually batted at number 11, the last position. He was known for hitting the ball hard and sometimes in unusual ways. His highest Test score was 67 runs against India in 2001, which included three sixes. He also scored a valuable 33 not out in an ODI against Bangladesh in 2009, helping Sri Lanka win the match.

He holds the record for the highest 10th wicket partnership for Sri Lanka in Tests, scoring 79 runs with Chaminda Vaas. He also holds the record for scoring the most runs in Test cricket while batting at number 11. However, he also holds the record for the most "ducks" (being dismissed for zero runs) in international cricket, with 59 ducks in total.

Retirement from International Cricket

On 7 July 2010, Muttiah Muralitharan announced he would retire from Test cricket. His last Test match was against India on 18 July 2010. He needed 8 more wickets to reach 800. In his very last ball of his Test career, he took his 800th wicket, dismissing Pragyan Ojha. This made him the only bowler to reach 800 wickets in Test cricket.

He also announced his retirement from all international cricket after the 2011 Cricket World Cup. His final ODI was the World Cup final against India in Mumbai.

After Retirement

After retiring from playing, Muralitharan became a coach. He has been the bowling coach for Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL since 2015. Under his coaching, the Sunrisers Hyderabad won the IPL championship in 2016. He has also worked as a spin bowling consultant for the Australian national team.

World Records and Achievements

Muttiah Muralitharan holds many world records in cricket:

• The most Test wickets (800 wickets).
• The most One-Day International wickets (534 wickets).
• The highest number of international wickets across Tests, ODIs, and T20s combined (1347 wickets).
• The most times taking 5 wickets in an innings in Test matches (67 times).
• The most times taking 10 wickets in a match in Test matches (22 times). He is the only player to take 10 wickets against every Test-playing nation.
• The fastest bowler to reach 350, 400, 450, 500, 550, 600, 650, 700, 750, and 800 Test wickets, based on matches played.
• The only player to take 10 wickets in a Test in four matches in a row, achieving this twice.
• The only player to take 50 or more wickets against every Test-playing nation.
• He and Jim Laker are the only bowlers to take 9 wickets in a Test innings twice.
• Most Test wickets taken by being bowled (167), stumped (47), and caught & bowled (35).
• Most successful bowler/fielder combination: Mahela Jayawardene catching off Muralitharan's bowling (77 wickets).
• Most "Man of the Series" awards in Test cricket (11).
• One of only six bowlers to dismiss all eleven batsmen in a single Test match.
• Most Test wickets taken at a single ground. He is the only bowler to take over 100 Test wickets at three different venues: the Sinhalese Sports Club Ground, the Asgiriya Stadium, and the Galle International Stadium.
• The only bowler to take 75 or more wickets in a calendar year in Test cricket three times.
• Most five-wicket hauls in his international career (77).
• Most ducks (dismissals for zero) in international cricket (59 total).
• Most balls bowled in his international cricket career (63,132).
• Most balls bowled by any bowler in Test career (44,039).
• Holds the record for taking the most Test wickets when playing at home (493).
• The only bowler to take 100 or more wickets in a calendar year four times across all formats (1998, 2000, 2001, and 2006).

Recognition and Awards

In 2002, Wisden named Muralitharan the best Test bowler of all time based on statistics. Former Australian captain Steve Waugh even called him the "Don Bradman of bowling."

He was named the Wisden Leading Cricketer in the World in 2000 and 2006.

On 15 November 2007, the Warne-Muralidaran Trophy was created. This trophy is named after Muralitharan and Shane Warne, the two leading wicket-takers in Test cricket. Australia and Sri Lanka now play for this trophy in their Test series.

On 3 December 2007, the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) put up a portrait of Muralitharan at Lord's cricket ground. On the same day, Sri Lanka issued a special stamp to celebrate his world record.

The Parliament of Sri Lanka honored Muttiah Muralitharan on 10 January 2008 for his world record. This was the first time a sportsman had been honored in the country's main law-making body. The Pallekele International Cricket Stadium in Kandy was also renamed after him.