Muttiah Muralidaran
Record setting bowler Muttiah Muralidaran may have been fortunate to play and quit at the right time ahead of what he contends are batters who are hitting the ball harder than they did when he turned his arm on the international cricket scene.
Muraidaran is now the bowling coach of the Sunrises Hyderabad at the Indian Premier League (IPL) and was asked whether he bowls to batsmen at practices or training sessions.
“I don’t want to bowl now”, Muralidaran said when he was asked by a commentator during a match against rival team Royal Challengers Bangalore this week.
“The game has changed over the past two years and teams are chasing down 200 (in T20 cricket)”, he said.
Muralidaran also did not hide the fact that present batsmen in T20 cricket have become bolder and are not afraid to attack the bowlers.
“Batsmen are stronger now than when I bowled. They are not scared of taking risks and not many bowlers are spinners of the ball these days,” said Muralidaran who retired in 2012 after taking a record 800 wickets for Sri Lanka in Test cricket.
He played for Chennai Super Kings and Royal Challengers Bangalore in the IPL at the initial stages of the tournament and retired from T20 Internationals in 2010.
The 52-year old Muralideran also took 534 ODI wickets in 350 matches and retired in 2011.
