Muttiah Muralitharan: Profile, Biography, Achievements

Muttiah Muralitharan, also known as Murali, is a Sri Lankan cricket coach, former professional cricketer, businessman, and member of the International Cricket Council’s Cricket Hall of Fame. Muralitharan is widely regarded as the most successful and talented bowler in cricket history, averaging over six wickets per Test match. He is the first bowler in history to have 800 Test wickets and over 530 ODI wickets. As of March 2023, he had more international wickets than any other bowler. Muralitharan played for Sri Lanka in their World Cup victory in 1996.

Muttiah Muralitharan Biography

Full Name: Muttiah Muralitharan

Nick Name: Murali

Profession: Sri Lankan cricket coach, Former Cricketer

Net Worth: Estimated between $1-6 million

Facebook Handle: Muttiah Muralitharan

Twitter Handle: @MuttiahMurali

Muttiah Muralitharan Physical Status

Height: 5 feet 7 inches (1.70 metres)

Weight:  70 kg

Eye Colour: Brown

Hair Colour: Black

Muttiah Muralitharan Personal Life

Date of Birth: 17 April 1972

Place of Birth Kandy, Sri Lanka

Nationality: Sri Lankan

School: St. Anthony’s College, Kandy

Muttiah Muralitharan Family

Marital status: Married

Wife Name: Madhimalar Ramamurthy

Father: Sinnasamy Muttiah

Mother: Lakshmi Muttiah

Brother: Muttiah Prabhakaran, Muttiah Sridharan & Muttiah Sasidharan

Muttiah Muralitharan Career Statistics

Muttiah Muralitharan Debut

Test Match- 28 August 1992 v Australia

ODI Match- 12 August 1993 v India

T20I- 22 December 2006 v New Zealand

Muttiah Muralitharan Last Match

Test Match- 18 July 2010 v India

ODI Match- 2 April 2011 v India

T20I Match- 31 October 2010 v Australia

Muttiah Muralitharan Achievements

Muttiah Muralitharan International Records

1. The highest number of Test wickets (800 wickets)
2. The highest number of One-Day International wickets (534 wickets)
3. The most international wickets (1347 wickets) in Tests, ODIs, and T20s combined
4. The most 5-wicket hauls in a Test innings (67).
5. The most 10-wicket hauls in a Test match (22). He is the only player to have taken 10 wickets in a match against every Test nation.
6. He was the fastest bowler to 350, 400, 450, 500, 550, 600, 650, 700, 750, and 800 Test wickets (in fact, he was the only bowler to achieve 708 wickets).
7. Only player in Test history to take ten wickets in four consecutive matches. He accomplished this feat twice.
8. Only player who has taken 50 or more wickets against every Test nation.
9. Only Muralitharan and Jim Laker (England) have taken 9 wickets in a Test innings twice.
10. Seven wickets in a single innings against the most countries (5).
11. Most Test wickets bowled (167), stumped (47) and caught and bowled (35) with Anil Kumble. The most common dismissal in Test cricket (excluding run outs) is a dismissal by Muralitharan (b Muralitharan).
12. Most successful bowler/fielder (non-wicket-keeper) pairing: c. Mahela Jayawardene and b. Muttiah Muralitharan (77). A fielder has caught the most test wickets (388). Most caught wickets (435), most Man of the Series accolades (11) in Test cricket.
13. Only one of six bowlers in Test history to have dismissed all eleven batsmen. Others include Jim Laker, Srinivasaraghavan Venkataraghavan, Geoff Dymock, Abdul Qadir, and Waqar Younis.
14. Only bowler to take 75 or more wickets in a calendar year in test cricket three times, in 2000, 2001, and 2006.
15. Most five-wicket hauls (77) in international career

Muttiah Muralitharan Awards and Honours

1. Muralitharan is widely regarded as the greatest Test bowler of all time. However, Muralitharan was not named one of the five Wisden Cricketers of the Century two years earlier. Steve Waugh, a former Australian captain, dubbed him “the Don Bradman of bowling.”
2. Muralitharan was named Wisden’s Leading Cricketer in the World in 2000 and 2006.
3. The Warne-Muralitharan Trophy, named after the two leading wicket-takers in Test cricket, Shane Warne and Muralitharan, was unveiled on November 15, 2007. The trophy depicts the hands of the two spin bowlers, each clutching a cricket ball. This trophy will be contested in all future Test series between Australia and Sri Lanka.
4. Marylebone Cricket Club announced the unveiling of a painting of Sri Lanka off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan at Lord’s on 3 December 2007, only hours after he became Test cricket’s leading Test wicket-taker. On the same day, the Philatelic Bureau of the Department of Posts in Sri Lanka released a circular stamp with a denomination of Rs. 5 to honour Muttiah Muralitharan’s world record. The circular pattern was intended to represent the cricket ball.
5. Alston Koch, an Australian musician, sparked worldwide interest when he recorded the only official tribute song to Muralitharan. The BBC’s Test Match Special even mentioned the tune. After he beat the world record, the Muralitharan Song video was also published.
6. Muttiah Muralitharan was honoured by the Sri Lankan Parliament on January 10, 2008, for breaking the world record for most Test wickets taken. It was the first time in the country’s history that a sportsman was honoured in the Supreme Legislature.
7. The Kandy Central Provincial Council christened the International Cricket Stadium in Pallekele after Muttiah Muralitharan.