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Sri Lanka in India 2009-10
Murali may quit before 2011 World Cup
Sa'adi Thawfeeq
November 28, 2009
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News : Galle Test to be Muralitharan's last
Tour and tournament reports : India v Sri Lanka, 2009-10 Players/Officials:
Muttiah Muralitharan
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Sri Lanka tour of India
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Muttiah Muralitharan, the Sri Lankan spinner, has said he may quit international cricket before the 2011 World Cup in the subcontinent.
Murali, on his fourth tour to India, his final overseas tour, is struggling to come to terms with the placid Indian pitches and a strong batting line-up which has treated him harshly in the series so far. In the second Test, in Kanpur, he went for over 100 runs for the second time in two Tests in the series, and so far his five wickets have cost him 396 runs, at an average of 79.20.
"I am 37 years old and I can't bowl as much as those days because I get tired after 15-16 overs. But I will try and play a little bit of one-day cricket - that's only 10 overs to bowl. If I find everything is not going well I might retire from both forms of the game before the World Cup," Murali said. "Everything depends on how much my body can take. In Test cricket it's a little bit harder because I have always been a threat to other sides [but] at the moment it's not looking like that because others are playing me well. I think I made the right decision to retire from Test cricket at the end of the West Indies series next year.
"Two to three years ago it was not like this. Now you have niggles here and there and my groin is not the same as it used to be. We got the worst bowling conditions in the last two Tests. We didn't have the bowlers, that was one of the factors. But that's the way cricket goes, everything won't work in your favour."
Sri Lanka are struggling in the series because Murali has not been able to give them the breakthroughs he usually does. "I've played only eight Tests this year: two against Bangladesh, two against Pakistan, and two against New Zealand when I really did well bowling in the second innings of the second Test with a groin injury," he said. "Whenever the side wanted a breakthrough I got it for them in the New Zealand series. I don't know why it's not happening here.
"You have to give credit to India also for playing well. Whatever we were expecting didn't happen. Even the spinners didn't do well in any Test because everyone was not up to the mark and the wicket was not assisting them."
Sri Lanka are yet to win a Test in India, but Murali said that he won't be too disappointed if he had to return home without a Test victory in India. "Every cricketer has to go through disappointments. Everything you want to happen in life won't happen; something will be missing. Looking back I can say what an amazing career I have gone through but if we can't win in India that's it. Life has to go on."
Already the leading wicket-taker in Tests, he needs 12 more wickets in a possible three Tests to reach 800, but he said he was not targetting personal milestones. "I am not really focussing on finishing off my career taking 800 Test wickets. My focus is on winning matches. I don't believe in numbers. Eight hundred is just a number everyone will forget once you retire. It's a number to have in your mind. It is good if I get it but if I don't, still I will be happy and go out knowing I had a great career."
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It will be a wise decision to retire on high rather than screwing up his best.
Posted by Chalachala on (December 02 2009, 16:52 PM GMT)well i think there is nothing to worry over these losses. For example, you think india needed 433 tests to win the 100 test. But Sri Lanka now have win 60 matches out of 192 they have played. So simply Sri Lanka is better with their test cricket. So Indians dont worry about Sri Lanka in the 2nd place in rankings. SL is better than you. SO Murali nothing to worry. U can continue as long as you can.
Posted by djhbkdave on (December 02 2009, 13:15 PM GMT)Lets Hope he will Reach the 800 test wicket mark
Posted by suman.sam on (December 01 2009, 12:44 PM GMT)He is a legend. His retirement will bring a huge null in world cricket.
Posted by keecha on (December 01 2009, 02:05 AM GMT)What a simple way of talking from a man who has a complex career. Greatness is amplified when coupled with humility. This man will still try and do as much damage possible in the Mumbai test. Though the Indians have so far played him well, they sould not ignore that even some moderate help from the pitch can make murali so powerful.If they can negate him or dominate him in Mumbai and win the test series, it will be a great effort. And 800 should probably be reached by the smiling assassin by the end of his final test, though I would personally prefer a majority of those 12 come during the series against Westindies :)
Posted by Cricfan27 on (November 30 2009, 12:30 PM GMT)I want see Murali take 1000 test wickets and no retirement decision before that. Please Murali don't stop here. The great batsman Sachin Tendulakar also have had low but always refused to think of retirement. Hope Murali will not disappoint the cricket lovers. We have the greatest Batsmen ( Sachin) from Asia and we have greatest bowler (Murali) from Asia. WE cricket lovers of Asia want these two become insurmountable.
Posted by vijay.energy on (November 30 2009, 09:18 AM GMT)He has taken this decision based on his performance in Kanpur test. Had they won the toss and batted first,things would have been different. Countering murali in fourth innings is easy for anybody in a kanpur like pitch. So Murali should wait for another 2 to 3 years atleast. Keep going Murali
Posted by prasannah.ganesh on (November 30 2009, 08:01 AM GMT)It is really sad to him come up and say like this. Even now there is only one way the sri lankan can come back at the indians in this series this Murali. We all know how much he had gone through to be where he is now. I must say, he's really honest about what he had said about him. But I dont think I should quit just yet. We all saw that catch he look to dismiss Gambir in the first inns. It was just those old time young boy Marali was. He has got cricket in him i would like to see him leave ground for the last time with the big bang.
Posted by RNSPavan on (November 30 2009, 07:13 AM GMT)Murali is an idol for all the contemporary offies.This news comes as no surprise because his body's started to give in. I regard him very highly for the fact that he's always been under the scanner but never did he give up.His immaculate line and lethal doosras have always debilitated the mindsets of the best batsmen. Murali joins the league of Kumble, Warne,Pollock, McGrath and Wasim as the best bowlers of modern cricket. I guess this news will sadden most of his fans.But, all good things have to come to an end.
Posted by Moofta on (November 30 2009, 05:17 AM GMT)he's awesome! I reckon he'll be the highest eva wicket taker for lyk 30 years