Muralitharan's international career has been plagued by controversy over his bowling action. Due to an unusual hyperextension of his congenital bent arm at birth, his bowling action has been questioned on several occasions by referees and parts of the cricket community. After biomechanical analysis under simulated match conditions, Muralitharan's action was approved by the International Cricket Council, first in 1996 and again in 1999.

Muralitharan held first place in the International Cricket Council's player rankings for Test bowlers for a record 1,711 days, spanning 214 Test matches. He became the highest wicket-taker in Test cricket when he overtook previous record-holder Shane Warne on 3 December 2007. Muralitharan had previously held the record when he surpassed Courtney Walsh's 519 wickets in 2004 but suffered a shoulder injury later that year and was passed by Warne. Muralitharan took over the wicket of Gautam Gambhir on 5 February 2009 in Colombo to beat Wasim Akram's ODI record of 502 wickets. He retired from Test cricket in 2010 and recorded his 800th and final wicket on 22 July 2010 from his last ball in his final Test match.

Muralitharan was ranked Best Test Match Bowler by Wisden's Cricketers' Almanack in 2002 and was the first Sri Lankan cricketer to be inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame in 2017. In 2017 he won the Ada Derana Sri Lankan of the Year award.

Early Years and Personal Life

Muralitharan was born on April 17, 1972 to a Tamil Hindu family from the hill country in Kandy, Sri Lanka, the eldest of the four sons of Sinnasamy Muttiah and Lakshmi. Muralitharan's father, Sinnasamy Muttiah, runs a successful biscuit factory. Muralitharan's paternal grandfather, Periyasamy Sinasamy, came from southern India in 1920 to work on the tea plantations of central Sri Lanka. Later, Sinasamy returned to his native country with his daughters and settled in Tiruchirappalli, Tamil Nadu, India. However, his sons, including Muralitharan's father Muttiah, remained in Sri Lanka.

When he was nine, Muralitharan was sent to St. Anthony's College, Kandy, a private school run by Benedictine monks. He started his cricket career as a medium-paced bowler, but on the advice of his school coach, Sunil Fernando, he took up the off-spin when he was fourteen. He soon impressed, playing First XI at the school for four years. At that time he played as an all-rounder and hit in midfield. In his last two seasons at St Anthony's College he took over a hundred wickets and was named Bata Schoolboy Cricketer of the Year in 1990/1991.

After leaving school he joined Tamil Union Cricket and Athletic Club and was selected for the 1991 Sri Lanka A Tour of England. He played in five games but failed to take a single wicket. On his return to Sri Lanka he impressed in a training match against Australia side Allan Border and then made his Test debut at R. Premadasa Stadium in the second Test of the series.

When his grandfather died in July 2004 at the age of 104, Muralitharan returned home from a tour of India to attend his funeral. Periyasamy Sinasamy's first wish to see Muralitharan, who claims the world record for most test wickets, came true (beating the record set by Courtney Walsh), but not his wish to live to see his grandson married. Muralitharan's grandmother had died a month earlier at the age of 97. Muralitharan's manager, Kushil Gunasekera, stated, “Murali's family is close-knit and united. They respect traditional values. The late grandfather had a great relationship with Murali.”
Muralitharan married Madhimalar Ramamurthy from Chennai on March 21, 2005. Madhimalar is the daughter of the late Dr. S. Ramamurthy of Malar Hospitals and his wife Dr. Nithya Ramamurthy. Their first child, Naren, was born in January 2006.

Muttiah Muralitharan holds the Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI) and does not require a visa to travel to India. According to his manager Kushil Gunasekera, Muralitharan qualifies for this status because his family is from India. Muttiah announced on April 3, 2011 that he was retiring from all sports.

Domestic cricket

In national cricket, Muralitharan has played for two top Sri Lankan teams, Tamil Union Cricket and Athletic Club in the Premier Trophy and Central Province in the Provincial Championship. His record is exceptional - 234 wickets on 14.51 carries in 46 games.

In England

He also played county cricket in England, mainly for Lancashire (1999, 2001, 2005 and 2007), appearing in 28 top-flight matches for the club. He played five top-flight games for Kent during the 2003 season. His bowling record in English cricket is also exceptional - 236 wickets from 15.62 runs in 33 games. Despite his efforts, he was not part of a title-winning top-flight national team at either the Premier Trophy or the County Championship. He was unusual among his contemporaries in that he played in more Test matches than any other top-rated game (116 Tests and 99 other top-rated games as of November 30, 2007). Muralitharan was signed from Gloucestershire in 2011 to play in T20 matches. He renewed his T20 contract with Gloucestershire in 2012 but did not stay for the 2013 season.

In India

Muralitharan was hired to represent Bengal at the 2008–09 Ranji Trophy tournament. He was expected to play about four games in the second division of the tournament - the Plate League.

In February 2008, Muralitharan was scheduled to play Twenty20 cricket for the Chennai Super Kings in the Indian Premier League (IPL). It was bought by India Cements, the IPL's Chennai franchisee, in a bidding process for US$600,000. The Chennai Super Kings were the runners-up in the inaugural edition of the IPL, losing to the Rajasthan Royals in the final. Muralitharan took 11 wickets in 15 games at an economy rate of 6.96 per over. In 2010, in the third IPL season, Muralitharan was part of the Chennai Super Kings team that won the IPL championship. Muralitharan remained the team's leading wicket-taker through all three tournaments.

At the 2011 IPL Player Auction, Muralitharan was purchased by Kochi Tuskers Kerala for $1.1 million.

In the 2012 season Muralitharan joined Royal Challengers Bangalore where he won 14 wickets in 9 games and averaged an economy rate of 6.38. He played for Royal Challengers Bangalore from 2012 to 2014. In 2014 he decided to retire from the IPL.

In 2015, Muralitharan was appointed bowling coach and mentor to IPL team Sunrisers Hyderabad.

In Australia

Muttiah Muralitharan signed with the Melbourne Renegades in 2012 to play Twenty20 cricket in the Big Bash League.

International career
Bowling style and career progression

Muralitharan is the first wrist-spinning off-spinner in the game's history. He bowls Marathon spells, but he's usually on offense. His unique bowling action begins with a short run-up and culminates in an extremely wrist open-chest release from a partially supinated forearm that had mistaken him for a leg spinner early in his Allan Border career. The off-break, which he claimed to have two variations of (during a taped TV "Doosra" show with Channel 4's Mark Nicholas in 2004), his main delivery is a fast top spinner that lands on the seam and usually going straight , and the Doosra, a surprise delivery that turns from leg to out (the opposite direction of his stock delivery) with no readily apparent change in action. Additionally, he occasionally used one of his several unnamed novelties. Its super-flexible wrist makes it particularly powerful and is guaranteed to turn on any surface.

Since his debut in 1992, Muralitharan has won 800 Test wickets and over 500 One Day International wickets, becoming the first player to win 1,000 wickets in the two main forms of international cricket.

Performance Analysis

In July 2007, Muralitharan achieved a career-high 920 in Test Bowling based on the LG ICC Player Rankings. This is the highest rating ever achieved by a spin bowler in Test cricket. He also ranks fourth in the LG ICC Best-Ever Test bowling ranking.

Muralitharan has the unique distinction of taking 10 or more wickets in a game against all nine Test-playing nations and capturing over 50 wickets against each of them. He also took 7 or more wickets in an innings against five nations, namely England, India, South Africa, West Indies and Zimbabwe (see table above). Muttiah Muralitharan also took at least five five-fors against all of the other nine Test teams.

He currently holds the highest wickets-to-match ratio (6.1) of any bowler with over 200 Test wickets and also represented Sri Lanka in 118 Tests of the 175 they have played (67.4%).

Against non-Bangladesh and Zimbabwe teams, Muralitharan took 624 wickets in 108 Tests. For comparison, aside from his matches against Bangladesh and Zimbabwe, Warne conceded 691 wickets in 142 Tests. Murali's average of 24.05 is slightly higher than Warne's career average of 25.41. Muralitharan won 18 Man of the Match awards in Test cricket.

During Muralitharan's game days, the ICC Future Tours program denied Sri Lanka and several other teams a level playing field. As a result, Muralitharan never toured South Africa after December 2002 and never played a Test at the spin-friendly Sydney Cricket Ground.

Another comparison of Muralitharan's bowling record with other successful international bowlers is her career away record. Muralitharan was criticized for having great success on home soil, capturing wickets on pitches that were more spin-friendly than other international pitches. A quick analysis of his test record of matches played outside of Sri Lanka shows him taking 278 wickets in 52 matches with an average of 26.24 runs per wicket and a batting average of 60.1 balls per wicket. Similarly, spin bowling rival Shane Warne retired with a slightly better away record of 362 wickets from 73 games at an average of 25.50 and a batting average of 56.7. Due to the variability of Test cricket, such as B. the venue and the opponents played against, it is difficult to compare the quality of the top players and therefore very difficult and subjective. However, it is clear that Muralitharan has played much better at home to test the Zimbabwe and Bangladesh minnows, averaging under 16 runs per wicket.

Cricinfo Statistics Editor S Rajesh concluded that the decade 2000–2009 was the best 10-year period for Test batsmen since the 1940s. Muralitharan was clearly the leading Test wicket-taker during this period, taking 565 wickets at 20.97 despite batter dominance over the ball. Shane Warne took 357 wickets during the decade with an average of 25.17. Of the spinners with over Test 100 wickets, only John Briggs (17.75), Jim Laker (21.24), Bill O'Reilly (22.59) and Clarrie Grimmett (24.21) have bowling averages below 25.00 .

Muralitharan has been on the winning side in 54 of his 133 friendlies. In those games he took a total of 438 wickets (8.1 wickets per game) with an outstanding average of 16.18 per wicket and a batting average of 42.7. Muralitharan conceded 795 wickets for his country Sri Lanka in 132 tests. The second most wickets for Sri Lanka in those 132 Tests were Chaminda Vaas' 309 - less than 40% of the spinners' stack. No one else managed 100. In total, the Sri Lankan bowlers recorded 1968 wickets in this range, of which Muralitharan accounted for 40.4%. Of the 24 other Sri Lankans to win more than 10 of those wickets, only Lasith Malinga had a better batting average (52.3) than Muralitharan's 54.9 - and the latter bowled slightly more overs, 6657.1 of them to be precise .

One-day internationals
Career summary

On 12 August 1993, Muralitharan made his One Day International (ODI) debut against India at Khettarama Stadium, scoring 1 for 38 from ten overs. Pravin Amre was his first ODI wicket.

On October 27, 2000 in Sharjah, Muralitharan won 7-30 against India, which was then the best bowling figures at One Day Internationals.

On April 9, 2002, Muralitharan achieved a career high ODI Bowling Rating of 913 based on the LG ICC Player Rankings. This is the highest rating ever for a spin bowler at One Day Internationals. This also puts him fourth in the LG ICC Best-Ever ODI Bowling Ratings.

In 2006, Muralitharan had the second-highest (now third-highest) number of runs (99) in a One Day International innings. The Australians, led by Adam Gilchrist, attacked Muralitharan more than usual while bowling that day. However, he was included in the World ODI XI by the ICC for his performances in 2006. Muralitharan does not have a great record against the Australians in ODIs and this was proven again when he was ineffective in the 2007 World Cup final; his chief tormentor was Gilchrist again. However, for his achievements in 2007 he was placed in the World ODI XI by the ICC. For the 2007 World Cup, he was voted into the "Team of the Tournament" by Cricinfo.

Muralitharan played in five Cricket World Cup tournaments in 1996, 1999, 2003, 2007 and 2011. He captured 67 World Cup wickets and is second in the list to Glenn McGrath who has 71 and has represented Sri Lanka in three World Cup finals. In 1996, Muralitharan was part of Sri Lanka's World Cup team that defeated Australia in Lahore, Pakistan. Muralitharan also played in the 2007 World Cup final when Australia defeated Sri Lanka in Bridgetown, Barbados. At the 2007 World Championships he took 23 wickets and finished the tournament as the second highest wicket-taker behind Glenn McGrath. He was part of the team that lost the 2011 World Cup final to India in Mumbai. It was also his farewell game. He was named by the ICC to the "Team of the Tournament" for the 2011 World Cup.

Muttiah Muralitharan was dropped from the Sri Lankan one-day squad to tour the West Indies in April 2008. Explaining the non-selection, selector chair Ashantha De Mel stated: "We know he (Muralitharan) can still play at the next World Cup if he is well looked after, we want to use him sparingly to protect him for the big games." and to spare the upcoming World Cup in the Asian subcontinent, where Muralitharan will be a threat."
Muralitharan has the most career wickets in One Day Internationals after overtaking Wasim Akram on February 5, 2009. Akram took 502 wickets in 356 games. On February 3, 2009, Muralitharan sacked Yuvraj Singh in his 327th game, third ODI against India in Colombo to equal Akram's record. He won 13 Man of the Match awards in this form of the game.

After Retirement

In July 2014 he played for the Rest of the World in the Bicentenary Match at Lord's.

Career as a Coach

Muralitharan has been the bowling coach for Sunrisers Hyderabad since 2015. Under his tenure, Sunrisers Hyderabad emerged as IPL champions in 2016. He was also appointed as the head coach of Thiruvallur Veerans in the 2nd edition of the TNPL.

In 2014, Muralitharan joined the Australia national team as a coaching advisor for the Test series against Pakistan in the United Arab Emirates. On 11 March 2014 he was appointed Spin Bowling Advisor to the Cricket Association of Bengal. The tenure began with the players at a four-day camp beginning March 15, 2014.

Ahead of Australia's tour of Sri Lanka in 2016, he was again called up for the Australia team. Despite his presence on the team as an advisor, Australia failed to win any of the three Test matches, losing the series 3–0 The Australian team caused controversy across the country and Sri Lanka cricket, and Muralitharan exchanged verbal smacks with then-Sri Lanka team manager Charith Senanayake following an altercation out. The head of SLC Thilanga Sumathipala warned Muralitharan because he was trying to coach the Australian team, the team that had put more pressure on Muralitharan in the past due to his bowling actions. Muralitharan said that the team that had played against him in the past but now called him to coach for the Sri Lanka game was a big achievement in his career.

World records and achievements

Muttiah Muralitharan holds a number of world records and several firsts:
Most test wickets (800 wickets)

Most One-Day International Wickets (534 Wickets)

Highest number of international wickets in Tests, ODIs and T20s combined (1347 wickets)

Most 5-wicket hauls in an innings at Test level (67).

Most 10 wicket hauls in a match at Test level (22). He is the only player to score 10 wickets/match against every Test playing nation.

Fastest to 350, 400, 450, 500, 550, 600, 650, 700, 750 and 800 Test wickets in terms of games played (in fact the only bowler to exceed 708 wickets).
Only player to win 10 wickets in a Test in four consecutive games. He managed this feat twice.

Only player to take 50 or more wickets against any nation playing the Test.

Muralitharan and Jim Laker (England) are the only bowlers to win 9 wickets twice in a Test inning.

7 wickets in an innings against most countries (5).

Most test wickets were taken bowled (167), stumped (47) and catch & bowled (35) with Anil Kumble. Bowled by Muralitharan (b Muralitharan) is the most common dismissal in Test cricket (without being phased out).

Most Successful Bowler/Field Combination (Non-wicket-keeper) – c. Mahela Jayawardene born Muttiah Muralitharan (77). Most test wickets are caught by a fielder (388). Most captured gates(435)

Most Man of the Series awards in Test cricket (11).

One of only six bowlers to sack all eleven batsmen in a Test game. Jim Laker, Srinivasaraghavan Venkataraghavan, Geoff Dymock, Abdul Qadir and Waqar Younis are the others.

Most Test wickets in a single floor. Muralitharan is the only bowler to have captured more than 100 Test wickets at three venues, Sinhalese Sports Club Ground in Colombo, Asgiriya Stadium in Kandy and Galle International Stadium in Galle.

The only bowler to record 75 or more wickets three times in a calendar year, achieving this in 2000, 2001 and 2006.

Most five wicket hauls in international career (77)

Most ducks (dismissals for zero) ever in international cricket (across Tests, ODIs and T20Is): 59 ducks in total.

Most balls bowled in international cricket career (63132)

6th in list of most Test wickets in a home Test season (62 wickets in 7 games in 2001/02 - most by a Sri Lankan)

Most Balls Bowled by a Bowler in Test Career (44039)

Holds the record for most test wickets while playing on home soil (493)

Recognition

In 2002, Wisden conducted a statistical analysis of all Test matches to rank the greatest cricketers in history, and Muralitharan was ranked as the best Test bowler of all time. Two years earlier, however, Muralitharan was not named as one of the five Wisden Cricketers of the Century. Former Australian captain Steve Waugh called him "the Don Bradman of bowling".

Muralitharan was voted Wisden Leading Cricketer in the World in 2000 and 2006.

On 15 November 2007 the Warne-Muralidaran Trophy was unveiled, named after the two leading wicket-takers in Test cricket, Shane Warne and Muralitharan. The trophy features images of the hands of the two spin bowlers, each holding a cricket ball. This trophy will be contested in all future Test series between Australia and Sri Lanka.

On 3 December 2007, just hours after Muttiah Muralitharan became Test cricket's leading Test wicket-taker, Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) announced that it had unveiled a portrait of the Sri Lankan off-spinner at Lord's. On the same day, the Philatelic Bureau of the Sri Lanka Post Office issued a circular stamp with a face value of Rs. 5 to mark Muttiah Muralitharan's world record. The circular design was intended to denote the cricket ball.
Australian musician Alston Koch attracted worldwide attention when he recorded the only official tribute song to Muralitharan. The song was even featured in the BBC's Test Match Special. Muralitharan Song's video was also released after he broke the world record.

On 10 January 2008 the Sri Lankan Parliament congratulated Muttiah Muralitharan for his world record breaking achievement of being the highest wicket-taker in Test cricket. This was the first time an athlete had been honored in the country's Supreme Legislature.

The Central Provincial Council in Kandy has renamed the International Cricket Stadium in Pallekele after Muttiah Muralitharan.