Greatest test XI of the modern era

#11 Muttiah Muralitharan

The ‘smiling assassin’ who decimated many batting lineups

Muttiah Muralitharan is one of the greatest bowlers in the history of test cricket, if not the greatest ever. In a remarkable career spanning almost two decades, Muralitharan took exactly 800 wickets in 133 tests and 534 wickets in ODIs. In terms of the no. of international wickets, Murali stands head and shoulders above everybody else in the history.

Murali was an indefatigable warrior in the Sri Lankan bowling line-up who churned out many marathon spells in test cricket. It is not an exaggeration to say that the Lankan bowling line-up was a one-man army for a good part of his career.

Murali was so difficult to hit that he bowled regularly in the death overs for Sri Lanka despite being a spinner.

Whether wickets were needed or the flow of runs had to be stemmed immediately, Sri Lankan captains invariably turned to Murali and he almost always answered their prayers. His bowling action put him at the center of controversies but Murali came out unscathed.

Regardless of the pitch, Murali extracted massive turn and flummoxed the batsmen. He was probably the only spinner in history that could generate a tremendous amount of spin both ways, a factor which contributed to his success immensely.

It was Murali who popularised Doosra, the most potent weapon in an off-spinner’s arsenal.