| I
was privileged to play with Murali and Warne
By
Aravinda de Silva
It’s a great achievement not only for Murali but for the entire
country as well and for cricket in general. Since we hold the record
for the highest number of runs in an innings in Test cricket and
now the
highest wicket-taker ever in such a short spell of time since we
became a full ICC member, these are two achievements Sri Lanka should
be very proud of.
I am very happy for Murali. He is a great team man and a great fighter.
I also had the privilege of being part of his achievements. He won
a Test match for us at the Oval in England bowling a remarkable
spell. He is an excellent spinner who wins Test matches for you.
Over the years Murali has delivered and he is the one who has made
some of the Test victories possible.
As a batsman any other player would not like to have Murali in the
dressing room because he keeps on yapping all the time. All the
players know it but it’s in good spirits. It shows his enthusiasm
for the game. As a batsman I always used to ignore him when he keeps
saying things. He does it in good faith all in all.
That’s
his character. That’s how I would look at him. On the field
he is one guy who will give 100 percent. It is a privilege to have
such a cricketer in our team.
We face him all the time at the nets and play him sometimes easily
which makes me wonder how come other batsmen struggle so much against
him. But in the middle it’s a totally different game by the
amount of variations he’s got. The variation he’s made
over the years has made him the greatest bowler ever.
Murali and Shane Warne in combination have done a lot for world
cricket. Both of them have been two unique bowlers whom I think
will never be replaced easily for years. I am very happy to have
been involved in that era - to have faced one and to have the other
in the team. They are two of the greatest bowlers and I am privileged
to have played in that period. It is something special which I cherish
very much. Away from the cricket field Murali is one guy we find
very hard to keep quiet. He loves talking about anything and goes
on and on. He wants everyone to listen to him. Apart from that he
enjoys going out dancing and having fun when on tours.
He went through tough times in Australia when he was no-balled for
throwing. We as team-mates backed him and there are a few individuals
who fought on his behalf whom he holds in high regard a fair bit
for supporting him during those difficult times. I was part of that
team and I knew what we had to go through keeping awake up till
4-5 in the morning talking with lawyers etc. Murali owes a certain
amount of gratitude to his team- mates who supported him on the
field.
He is such a simple guy that I always thought he would end up with
1000 Test wickets. That’s a possibility. The amount of overs
he could bowl has been his strength. He will be remembered as a
gutsy cricketer who could turn the ball on any surface. That is
the unique talent that he’s got.
[Aravinda de Silva, arguably the greatest batsman produced by Sri
Lanka played Test cricket from 1984-2002 and was Murali’s team
mate from 1992.]
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