Muttiah Muralitharan ''a shot-putter'', his "800 wickets run-outs": Former Indian captain Bishan Singh Bedi
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Muttiah-Muralitharan-c78157 calling him a shot-putter adding that his wickets are better to be called as run-outs as he was a chucker.
"I called him (Murali) a javelin thrower. I can call him a shot-putter. People say that he has got 800 wickets. I would rather say that it's 800 run-outs!" said a sardonic Bedi on Tuesday.
The former left-arm orthodox bowler of India, who never misses an opportunity to take a dig at Murali and Bhaji (Harbhajan Singh of http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Australia-c746’s spin bowling prodigy Shane Warne calling the latter a ‘magician’.
"On one hand you have Shane Warne who is a magician and then you have Muralitharan on the other hand. It's total shambles. And Harbhajan Singh is no different," the Amritsar off-spinner was scathing in his criticism.
Bedi was sharing his sarcastic views in a panel discussion at a Summit on World Cricket, held in the memory of former President of Board of Control for Cricket in India, late Raj Singh Dungarpur.
Bob Simpson, the former Aussie captain and legendary coach, was also Bedi’s supporter from the panel. Simpson questioned Murali’s bowling action on technical grounds saying, "You can't bowl a doosra if you don't straighten your arms and that's chucking.” When raised the question how come the bowler was cleared by the ICC specialists, Bedi promptly replied that when the bowlers are taken to the laboratory for Tests, they bend the arm within the permissible limits but it is not possible during matches. “It's all useless to say about 18 degrees. Their arms bend at 35 to 40 degrees," added Bedi.
But, another former Indian captain http://www.senore.com/Cricket/South-Africa-c757 (UCBSA) Ali Bacher begged to differ on the chucking issue. Bacher said that the bowling action of Murali was legal and he never found him to be a chucker while Dev said that the Lankan off-spinner need not to be blamed rather authorities should be held responsible.
"I don't blame Murali for this problem,” said the former all-rounder who played for India from 1978 to 1994. “The problem is with the authorities who allow people to do wrong things."
Muralitharan, who retired from Test cricket earlier in July this year after completing his 800 Test wickets, has had a controversy hit career with most of the criticism coming from Down Under with former Australian Prime Minister John Howard also calling him a ‘chucker’.
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