Murali the Magician - A tribute

Brandishing the ball in his left hand, the jump in his stride, the slow, steady and open chested run up, the arm which is an optical defect of god’s creation swings into action, the eyes widen and the ball springs out of the magical fingers to claim yet another wicket. Yes, that is in theory, the bowling of the magician “Muttiah Muralitharan“.

Muttiah Muralitharan was born in a village near Kandy to Sinnasamy and Lakshmi. His father was one of those people who migrated from India to Sri Lanka in search of a job. His father runs a successful biscuit making factory there. Murali started off as a medium pacer but changed to off spin when he was 14 years old. Murali had a unique action right from his young age. His ability to spin the ball made him a difficult bowler to get away with. He played some good cricket while he was at school and used to bag many prizes. He was then signed up for a domestic team – Tamil Union and Athletic Club. His performances there paved way for his debut for Sri Lanka. He soon made his debut for the national side in 1992.

Murali was a gifted bowler right from the start of his career. He was the only wrist spinning off-spinner in the history of cricket. His action was difficult to read and it helped him bag many wickets early in his career. His unique action let him obtain spin in any type of wickets and he bowled very well in overseas tours.

Murali became the team’s lead spinner in a very short time, picking heaps of wickets. He toured many countries like Pakistan and New Zealand and was the pick of the bowlers for Sri Lanka every time. But his career was at cross roads when he toured Australia in 1995. The umpire who officiated the second test, Darrell Hair, called him for chucking repeatedly. He was sent for diagnosis and was not allowed to bowl until he was cleared. But after the diagnosis, people came to know that his arm was naturally bent and his action which seemed like throwing, was in fact an optical illusion. He soon came back into the team and was a key to the Sri Lankan team that won the World Cup.

Murali is one of the best cricketers to have come out from Sri Lanka. He was always a key member of the team and always delivered when it mattered. Murali was not only a great cricketer but also a man who was down to earth, full of humility and character. He had always been friendly, charming and always had a word for an aspiring youngster.

With 800 test wickets and 534 ODI wickets, one can go as far as to call him the Bradman of bowling because he has reached heights that none have dared to venture. He was rated as the best spin bowler by Wisden twice in his career and that shows his calibre. His average in ODI’s and test are staggering – between 22 and 23, which is quite astonishing for a man who has taken 1300 odd wickets.

Murali has never shown attitude on or off the field and has always been a likeable cricketer. No one can forget his smile and his childlike glee on his face after every time he picks up a wicket.

Murali lived a life of a warrior, considering all the humiliations that he had to go through on his bowling action and his huge responsibility to lead the Sri Lankan spin bowling attack for nearly 20 years. These were no mean feats and Murali managed to achieve that with impeccable brilliance.

Though Murali was born in Sri Lanka and has lived and played cricket all his life there, his heart is still Indian and that is evident from the fact that Murali’s favourite place is India where his grandparents lived and he got married to a Chennai girl too. I’m proud to say that a man from my culture has gone on from being a grandson of a tea plantation worker to one of the world’s renowned cricketers who has a ground named after him. It is not only his pleasure but for the whole of Tamil Nadu who consider him as one of our favourite cricketing sons who played for us in the IPL for three full seasons and a person who still enthrals us with his bowling and affable nature. Hats off Murali for all that you’ve done for cricket and its fans.