Prem Panicker on Muttiah Muralitharan:
“Sport is relatively easy to write: angels and demons, heroes and villains, triumphs and tragedies, neatly linear narratives in a way the world, shaded in gradations of gray, rarely is. And that perhaps is the secret of sport’s enduring appeal — it satisfies our need to take sides, to hiss the villain and cheer the hero without worrying about nuance.
“And then there is Muthaiah Muralitharan — neither hero nor villain, neither black nor white; a player who resists being slotted neatly into the pigeonhole labeled ‘greatest spinner in the world’ or equally, the one labeled ‘cheat’.”
Read the full story: Cheat or misunderstood genius?
Also read: CHURUMURI POLL: Murali, Warne or Kumble?
Congratulations to Murli, even though I have reservation. But no one can take from him persistence, dedication and will to WIN for his team.
Cricinfo also informs that tenda and dravid have all the records between them in test bar avg of bradman, but nothing to show for the team. Shame.
Congrats & Well Done.
Your Friend
Nandkishor
It is Great that you have devoted this to Murali the Gentleman of cricket.
One has never seen him angry, always smiling, whether he is hit for a six or when he takes a wicket. I have followed him quiet a bit and I have seen him getting frustrated only twice, once when he was no balled for throwing and Arjuna almost created a seizure in Murali’s carrier and later to day when he was on 799 he kicked the ball at the end of an over in real frustration. He has created history, and like Laker’s 19 this 800 will be for ever.
Hats off to Murali the Human!
A fantastic article. Muralitharan deserves every bit of praise and adulation he gets (and then some). It is unfortunate for people to question his god given abilities and to call him a chucker/cheat.
By that token our very own Chandrashekar, with his polio stricken arms would be called a cheat.
how unfair!!
They call Shane Warne a genius – Why treat Murali any differently? Or Kumble for that matter?
Murali is the greatest!
This will remain forever like Bradman’s 29 hundreds in 52 Tests. Unbeatable.
Murali proved he can raise again and again after being noballed, criticised by Austrlian Prime Minister, shoulder injury…That is the ultimate spirit in sports; to come up while going downwards..
I tend to agree with Khan on this one. Murali should be applauded for his ability to win games for his country and not only the record crunching 800 wickets(WOW!!!!!!). I dont think any body in the near future can come close.
Indian sports heroes too chould concentrate on winning games rather then making their personal records in the interest of the nation.