Barely a few days into retirement
and there is something in Test
cricket that Sri Lankan off-
spinner Muttiah Muraliatharan is
already missing - bowling to
Indian batting icon Sachin
Tendulkar.
Muralitharan brought down the
curtains on his glittering 18-year-
old career after guiding Sri Lanka
to a thumping 10-wicket triumph
over India at Galle.
"I am going to miss the dressing
room environment. The
challenges of five-day cricket and
first and foremost bowling to
great players like Sachin
Tendulkar. I will miss this," the
wily off-spinner said in an
interview from Colombo.
Muralitharan, however, neither
regrets his decision nor does he
think that it was a premature
one.
"I don't think that it was a
premature decision. I was
thinking about it since long and I
thought it was the perfect time,"
said the eye-popping legend.
Muralitharan retired from Test
cricket after reaching his 800
wickets. He got the 800th wicket
with his final ball in Test cricket.
The affable bowler said he was
not confident of reaching the
milestone.
"Many people, including my wife,
suggested that I should play the
whole series against India but I
wanted to play only the Galle
Test. Frankly speaking I was not
at all confident of getting eight
wickets need to touch 800.
"I was not even thinking about
that. Winning was more
important for me and I was
concentrating on that. Although
I felt on the top of the world
when I got Pragyan Ojha's
wicket," he said
"All my teammates hugged me.
Everyone was very happy. That
was an invaluable moment for
me and I can never forget that."
Muralitharan does not agree
that his record is for keeps and
no bowler would be able to
break it.
"This is cricket. You can not
guarantee anything. Someone
may cross the 800 Test wickets
mark tomorrow. Even when I
started playing I never thought
of making a world record one
day," said the bowler, who has
taken 515 ODI wickets.
Talking about his future plans,
Muralitharan wishes to play
Twenty20 Cricket for the next
couple of years but no he has
plans to enter politics like former
captain Arjuna Ranatunga and
Sanath Jayasuriya.
"I want to play Twenty20 cricket
for the next two or three years. I
would love to remain a part of
Chennai Super Kings provided
the IPL franchise wants me.
"Next year's ODI world cup is
also on my radar but it's upto
the selectors and coach whether
they want me or not. As far as
politics is concerned, it's not my
cup of tea," said Muralitharan.
When asked if he would like to
groom Indian spinners,
Muralitharan said Anil Kumble
will be a better option for that.
"I think Anil will be a better
option for that. He understands
Indian Cricket and was an
excellent captain," he said.
Muralitharan said he felt
overwhelmed by the love and
respect showered on him by
great players like Tendulkar,
Shane Warne, Wasim Akram and
Sourav Ganguly.
"I feel privileged that such
players are saying good things
about me. I have made many
friends all around the world and
I am proud of that.