Muttiah Muralitharan

Sri Lankan spin legend Muttiah Muralitharan is all set to take up the field on Saturday’s riveting encounter against India. Having ended his career on a high by picking up wickets of the penultimate deliveries in Sri Lanka both in Tests and ODIs, the spin wizard will want to end his career too, on a high. A World Cup medal to his team can be the best farewell the team could give him or rather he could give his team and his fans.

The off spinner had injury concerns ahead of the game with a troublesome knee and a hamstring that proved a threat from taking up the field on Saturday. When it comes to Murali, however an injury is such a trivial factor to keep him away from playing his last game, especially a world cup final.

When Dhoni was quizzed about Murali’s chances of playing the game, Dhoni said that those are things beyond the teams or any individual control. He also added that the legends presence in the dressing room is a great plus in the dressing room and he has been lucky to share the same dressing room for Chennai super kings for the past three years. He added that he is an equally good opponent and plays a fair cricket, believes in himself and someone who is always entertaining. Muralitharan has 534 ODI wickets over a span of 18 years and was also part of Sri Lanka’s World Cup winning squad in 1996.

Sri Lankan captain Kumar Sangakkara paid tribute to not just the skill of the magician but also the person behind the ball. He added that Sri Lanka will need a player of his kind on such big occasions. He confessed that Murali has always been kept the dressing room lively and it has been no different yesterday. He also said that the management will be desperate to play him in the eleven whatever the conditions are.

Tags: Cricket, India, Kumar Sangakkara, Murali, Muttiah Muralitharan, Spin Legend, Spin Wizard, Sri Lanka, World Cup