Muralitharan in talks to be spin coach in Australia

The man whom Australia once treated as an outcast, Muttiah Muralitharan, could now help them unearth a match-winning spinner. The controversial offspinner is in talks to be signed on as a guest spin coach with the Brisbane-based Centre of Excellence, according to the Australian newspaper Daily Telegraph.

Muralitharan confirmed that he had been approached for the job and that negotiations were going on at present. "They want me to come for two weeks in a year and help them with the Academy," Muralitharan told ESPNcricinfo. "They want me to come in May but there is the IPL so we have to finalise the dates. We are still in the process of talks."

Muralitharan, the holder of the Test and ODI records for the most number of wickets, has had a chequered history with Australia. He was repeatedly no-balled by umpire Darrell Hair for a suspect action during the Melbourne Test in 1995, and was booed by Australian crowds. He even pulled out of the tour to Australia in 2004, apprehending crowd hostility.

He retired from Tests last year with a haul of 800 victims, and is due to mark his final appearance in one-dayers in the 2011 World Cup, having taken 519 ODI wickets.

If Muralitharan gets involved, it could be prove to be a boost for Australia, who have had a barren spin cupboard since the retirement of Shane Warne in 2007, trying out several spinners without success. Recently, Xavier Doherty and Michael Beer were plucked from relative obscurity to play in the Ashes.