Sri Lanka abandons plan to sue ICC over Murali

A Sri Lankan government spokesperson revealed today that it had abandoned plans to sue the International Cricket Council for banning Muttiah Muralitharan's doosra. After consulting its lawyers, the government has decided instead to appeal to the ICC, said Rohan Weliwata, spokesman for Mahinda Rajapakse, the prime minister.

Speaking to a news agency, Weliwata said, "Even though lawyers felt there was sufficient grounds to sue, the first step will be to present an appeal on behalf of Muralitharan. The prime minister is getting the support of Bangladesh, India and Pakistan in this."

Muralitharan is now the highest wicket-taker in the history of Test cricket, with 527 wickets, and last week, Rajapakse took the unprecedented step of meeting Nirupam Sen, an Indian diplomat in Colombo, to enlist India's support for the campaign to allow Murali his doosra.

The ICC had threatened him with a one-year ban if he continued to bowl it, saying that he straightened his arm far more than is allowed under the rules of the game. Last week, Ehsan Mani, the ICC's president, had asked Rajapakse to stay out of the controversy and allow the ICC to find its own solution.

Rajapakse's threat to sue had come in the wake of remarks from John Howard, Australia's prime minister, that suggested Murali was a chucker. Mani, however, had insisted that there was no basis for legal action. "I don't know how we'd be sued, but all our regulations are fully supported by all our members."