Who Will Replace Muralitharan after His Retirement?
It is difficult to take any other bowler's name in the same breath as Muthiah Muralitharan. After all, Muralitharan is not an ordinary cricketer; he has 800 wickets in Test matches, while none of the other current bowlers have even got close to 400.
The man is a genius, and despite the fact that no-one is indispensable, he comes closest to being one.
He has led the Sri Lankan attack with determination and flair for 18 years. And it is hard to imagine anyone else getting into the side and performing at the same level as Muralitharan. Sri Lanka have almost been pampered by the presence of Muralitharan in the team and there is no doubt that the things will never be the same again in his absence.
So, the question that remains is whether http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Sri-Lanka-c758 will find a suitable replacement for the great man, or struggle in much like the same manner as the Aussies did in their quest to get hold of someone to replace Shane Warne.
The Test matches witnessed mesmerising spells by the magician, and it will be in the Test matches that he will leave a big void. The likes of Rangana Herath and http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Ajantha-c42419 Mendis had shown considerable promise, and though the performance by Herath has come good in patches, it is difficult to see the oppositions allow him to get away for long. His lack of variety is especially of concern.
Herath is 32 years of age and he has played only 21 Tests so far, after making a test match debut against http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Pakistan-c755, but those were few and far between.
He has been in the side in place of Ajantha Mendis because of the latter’s lack of consistency, but one gets the sense that once Mendis makes a comeback, there will be stiff competition for places.
Speaking of Mendis, he is the one bowler who could go on to replace Muralitharan as a strike bowler for Sri Lanka. He is the man with a virtual golden arm, has the ability to bowl leg-spin, off-spin, googly and most importantly he has the carom-ball in his repertoire.
He troubled the Indian side in his debut Test series, and ended with 26 wickets in only three Test matches. The Indians are said to be the best players of spin bowling in the world and yet they struggled to get a move on.
Mendis was equally effective in the shorter version of the game. His performance against http://www.senore.com/Cricket/India-c750 in the Asia Cup, prior to his call up to the Test side was phenomenal. He truly stands a chance to lead the Sri Lanka attack.
The reason why Mendis often picks up wickets is the variety of balls he is able to throw at the batsman. Apart from that, he has a squeaky-clean action, and unlike Muralitharan, who had had an issue with chucking, Mendis will always be on the right side of the law.
What Mendis needs do is be disciplined in his bowling length, and concentrate more on maintaining a proper line.
The absence of Murlidharan won’t affect Sri Lankan cricket greatly in the shorter format of the game. Suraj Randiv is a third spinner who has emerged in the last ODI series that he played against India. The Indians had found it difficult to collar him in the shorter format, and while he is still some distance away from a regular spot in the Test match team, he could be a handful in the ODIs and the T20Is.
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