'Glad I don't need to face him'

	Andrew Flintoff: "It is not so much fun standing at the other end, though, when from 22 yards he's laughing at you, which is a bit off-putting" © Getty Images Enlarge
Related Links Players/Officials: Muttiah Muralitharan Teams: Sri Lanka

"He was a fantastic sportsman and supported all his team-mates on the field and I think that's something all senior players should take as a piece of advice from him, to be behind your team-mates 100%."
Aravinda de Silva, salutes his team-mate who was with him through thick and thin

"I admired him from a distance and when we played against each other we always tried to outdo each other. It was more about Australia and Sri Lanka, but it was good fun, the little battle within the big battle."
Shane Warne remembers his rivalry with Murali

"I don't want to get into comparison but I would prefer Warne. Murali is more accurate and has more variations so tougher to face."
Sourav Ganguly thinks Murali was tougher to face than Warne

"I am never going to go around looking for another Murali. Because you are never going to find any."
You can't replicate the man, says Kumar Sangakkara

"Glad I don't need to face him in Test cricket again."
Graeme Smith feels relief at the retirement

"What an incredible achievement. But it was one that is so deserved because he loves the game, has worked so hard and is such a great lad. It is not so much fun standing at the other end, though, when from 22 yards he's laughing at you, which is a bit off-putting."
Andrew Flintoff remembers playing with Murali for Lancashire

"There was no better way to finish than on that high note. You cannot ask for anything else. It was an honour to play along with him."
Anil Kumble salutes his fellow spinner

"I haven't changed my view in 15 years - he doesn't deserve the record."
Ross Emerson, who called Murali for chucking in 1999, maintains his stand

"There is no doubt Murali will be missed by the Sri Lankan team, not just for his wicket-taking ability, but for the pressure he applied and the number of overs he was able to bowl on each day."
Former Australia captain Mark Taylor on what Murali meant for Sri Lanka

"Murali used this delivery as a great wicket-taking weapon and I felt proud watching him do this."
Saqlain Mushtaq, the inventor of the doosra, compliments the man who made it his own

"To Benjamin Franklin's assertion that death and taxes are the only certainties can now be added the eternal nature of Murali's 800." To the Guardian's Mike Selvey, among others, Murali's record is unbreakable

"Murali is something phenomenal. I don't think anyone will even come close to taking 800 wickets."
Wasim Akram pays his tribute

"He is a God's gift. In my opinion no one will be able to match this feat in the horizon. He has performed on all types of wickets."
As does former India spinner Erapalli Prasanna

"I am afraid that Murali may have short-changed himself by deciding to give up Test cricket. He should have given himself a couple of years more and targeted 1000 Test wickets."
Former Sri Lanka captain Arjuna Ranatunga feels Murali called it quits too soon

"Were another Murali - and the beaches and streets of Sri Lanka are still full of youngsters who throw rather than bowl the ball - to emerge now, he would be headed off at the pass, 15 degrees of flexion or not. Murali graced Test cricket but Test cricket for many confused reasons will be relieved that he has departed."
In the Independent, Stephen Brenkley writes that with his his questionable action, Murali might not be missed in Tests

"I can honestly say that I was never able to pick Murali. Shane Warne, yes, but not Murali."
Nasser Hussain, the former England captain, on how he struggled against the Sri Lankan spinner

"He has borne the responsibility of representation with lightness, humour, and simplicity, remaining a conciliatory presence in an often strife-torn nation."
An editorial in the Hindu looks at Murali's achievements beyond the cricket field

"I may not agree with Murali's action or may have called all Murali wickets as run-outs, but I have highest respect for him as a human being, a kindhearted man."
Bishan Bedi, the former India spinner and a long-time critic of Murali's action, can't find any fault in the man himself

"He brought to the craft a new way of doing things, converting a finger-spinning exercise into a wrist-spinning one. He remains the symbol of a resurgent Sri Lanka, a talented side from its pre-Test days but one that needed a touch of iron to perform consistently."
Writer Suresh Menon on how Murali transformed offspin