Muttiah Muralitharan
The only bowler to take 800 Test wickets and over 530 ODI wickets, Muralitharan is the highest wicket-taker in international cricket as of 2026.
No other bowler has achieved 800 Test wickets or more than 530 ODI wickets, and Muralitharan's total international wickets exceed those of any other player.[1]
Quick Facts
- Country
- Sri Lanka
- Nickname
- Murali
- Born
- 17 April 1972
- Birthplace
- Kandy, Ceylon
- Batting
- Right-handed
- Bowling
- Right-arm off break
- Role
- Bowler
Facts from the source article.
Life and work
He made his Test debut at R. Premadasa Stadium in the Second Test against Allan Border's Australian team.[2] Muralitharan married Madhimalar Ramamurthy, a Chennai native, on 21 March 2005, and their first child Naren was born in January 2006.[3] When Muralitharan was fourteen, his school coach Sunil Fernando advised him to switch from medium pace bowling to off-spin, which he did.[4] Because of an unusual hyperextension in his congenitally bent arm when delivering the ball, Muralitharan's bowling action repeatedly faced scrutiny and controversy during his international career.[5]
Following biomechanical testing at the University of Western Australia and the Hong Kong University of Science & Technology in 1996, the ICC cleared Muralitharan's action, determining that it produced an 'optical illusion of throwing'.[6]
What the cited sources add
CricketArchive records show that in first-class cricket for Tamil Union he took 184 wickets at an average of 13.27, and for Lancashire he took 203 wickets at 15.96.[7] Ranatunga also noted that Muralitharan's performance was better than Warne's because he had taken 532 Test wickets in 23 fewer matches.[8]
References
- Wikipedia, "Muttiah Muralitharan" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Gough, "Leading wicket-takers in international test match cricket as of June 2023", statistica.com, 10 September 2020 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Muttiah Muralitharan" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Heroes Muttiah Muralitharan Profile" (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Muttiah Muralitharan" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Archived copy"; "A significant moment in Murali's life", The Hindu, 22 March 2005; "Muralitharan ties the knot", The Hindu, 22 March 2005; Lanka NewspapersWorld Cup to be Murali`s swansong? (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Muttiah Muralitharan" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: de Silva, "Murali won Observer Schoolboy Cricketer of the Year title in 1991", Sunday Observer, 16 March 2008 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Muttiah Muralitharan" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Conn, "Bending law aided Murali: Gillespie", The Australian, 13 October 2007; Austin, "Muttiah Muralitharan profile at ESPNcricinfo" (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Muttiah Muralitharan" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Austin, "Muttiah Muralitharan profile at ESPNcricinfo" (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- CricketArchive, "First-Class Bowling For Each Team by Muttiah Muralitharan", Lancashire County Cricket Club. facts only, no text reused. cricketarchive.co.uk
- "Warne breaks Muralitharan's Test wickets record", Dawn, 3 December 2007. facts only, no text reused. dawn.com
Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Muttiah Muralitharan (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.
More in Sports Figures
Elsewhere in Historical Figures
Spotted an error? Know more?
Reader corrections go straight into our review queue. Suggest an edit · How this site is sourced