Murali’s is a huge boost of confidence for team - Kumar Sangakkara
Sri Lankan’s have got high hopes attached with the magical spinner http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Muttiah-Muralitharan-c78157 as the off-spinner starts life as an international limited-overs specialist. The 38-year-old spin wizard of Sri Lanka retired from Test cricket
earlier in July this year with a record 800 Test scalps in his account.
The off-spinner is part of the Sri Lankan squad that has just landed in http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Australia-c746, a country that rarely brought him some good memories rather he has often been treated harshly on both sides of the fence.
The captain Kumar Sangakkara expects no decrease of Murali’s powers and is hopeful that his return to the team, after missing the home tri-series win in August, will bolster the squad.
The smiling Sangakkara turned serious when asked about the criticism Murali has received from Australians regarding his bowling action. "It's always been unjustifiable if Murali has not been received well in any country", said the
Lankan skipper. "Just for the bowler he is, the character he is, he is a wonderful human being. However the fans react to him, or whether they accept him, it doesn't matter in the long run because the whole cricketing world love him for who he is. And he's
very secure in that".
Murali was called for throwing at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) during their 1995-96 tour to Australia and refused to tour the country in 2004 following John Howard’s comments over his bowling action. Though the comments shot
back at the Australian Prime Minister when he was nominated for the ICC vice-presidency post jointly by the Australia Cricket Board and http://www.senore.com/Cricket/New-Zealand-c754 Cricket Board.
Sangakkara said that the http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Sri-Lanka-c758 cricket wants its off-spin prodigy to enjoy his game while being part of the national team and play for as long as he wants. The Sri Lanka captain further added that it has always been fun to see
Murali playing and his magical spin is a huge boost of confidence for the team.
The off-spinner has reached Australia via http://www.senore.com/Cricket/South-Africa-c757, where he represented Chennai Super Kings in the Airtel Champions League T20. Murali claimed three crucial wickets in the final of the tournament as Chennai finished as champions.
Murali has played 22 ODIs in Australia picking up 31 wickets at an average of 32.70, with the Australian batting line-up usually uncomfortable to see out his overs.
Trevor Bayliss, the Sri Lanka coach, is positive about Murali’s performance and said that the promising off-spinner should benefit from his Test-free workload. "At this stage of his career having a rest every now and then will be good
for him", said the Lankan coach. "He's just had a little bit of time off and he's come back from the Champions League full of beans, and is bowling really well in the nets".
Sangakkara said it has always been tough playing in Australia yet he is hopeful to clinch a series win.
"Hopefully we get a victory in the series, that'll be great for us going forward," Sangakkara said. "We know how tough it is in Australia. We've been here before and we're yet to win, this is a great challenge to the guys".
The tourists will kick-start their trip with a one-day game against http://www.senore.com/Cricket/New-South-Wales-c823 before a T20 International in Perth on October 31 and three One Day Internationals
in the first week of November.
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