Muralitharan: A champion par excellence!
It is his sheer talent, passion, hard work and perseverance that has made Murali what he is today. It is this uniqueness of Murali that puts him way ahead of his contemporaries and even bowlers of past.
MUTTIAH MURALITHARAN, the smiling assassin, finally called it quits from test cricket on a high note after reaching the magical figure of 800 wickets. It was a perfect send off to a magician, who weaved a web across the globe with his mesmerizing deliveries in a career spanning 18 years. Murali’s exit from the longest version of cricket could be viewed in the same retrospect as of Sir Don Bradman’s exit from the game boasting of a record that seems unconquerable. However, Muralitharan's illustrious and enviable career has been beset with controversies related to the legality of his bowling action being called into question. He has been labeled as a chucker on a number of occasions by umpires and sections of the cricket community, especially Australians, but every time he has been cleared by a number of scientific studies. Right from the beginning of his career, his action came under the scanner and there were debates about his unorthodox and weird bowling action. Eventually, it was in 1995-96 when Sri Lanka toured Australia that umpire Darrel Hair ignited the issue by calling Murali’s deliveries ‘no-balls’ on a number of occasions. Right since then, the world has been divided into various sections- each having its own set of opinions. Some describe his action as flawed and unfit for the game, whereas others may take into account his physical disability and call his action as legitimate. However, the International Cricket Council (ICC) appointed biomechanics for biomechanical analysis under simulated match conditions, and Muralitharan came out clean every time- first in 1996 and again in 1999. He even got clean chit for his ‘doosra’ after which ICC revised the limits for such deliveries applying to all bowlers in 2005. However, there are critics who don’t give heed to the ICC verdict and keep on calling Murali as chucker and thrower. Whether there is any personal grudge or ethnic divide- it’s a matter of debate, but one thing is for sure- Murali is a true champion is his rights. The records speak a lot for him. There have been other bowlers across the world with such suspected actions, but they couldn’t deliver goods as Murali did. It is his sheer talent, passion, hard work and perseverance that has made Murali what he is today. It is this uniqueness of Murali that puts him way ahead of his contemporaries and even bowlers of past. It has been an emotional roller coaster ride for this ever smiling cricketer from Sri Lanka, but Murali has known just one thing- perform and fetch wickets for his country. This is what he should be remembered for. Kudos Murali!
Login
 Login through Social ID
|
