Mutiah Muralitharan will forever ignite debate. I must admit that when I saw him bowl for the first time, I believed he chucked. It is almost impossible for the human eye to believe otherwise. Scientific technology though, has a funny way of tearing down myths. After a thorough scientific research, it was found that every bowler bent his elbow to a certain degree when bowling. The ICC therefore modified the law to allow a permissible limit, within which a bowler could operate. Muralitharan's action operates within those limits and with that the matter must rest.
As a bowler Murali has been a champion. His records, like Bradman, will in all probability never be broken. Murali was SL's goto man and has bowled more overs than anybody in the history of the game. Any SL match would more often than not see Murali wheel away at one end for almost the entire innings. Whilst Murali was a fine bowler in most conditions, in SL he was often unplayable. The extravagant turn that he could extract from the deadest of surfaces remains one of cricket's great sights.
Perhaps the only blemish was the number of wickets collected against Zimbabwe & Bangladesh, the perennial whipping boys of international cricket. But using this against him would be churlish given his outstanding record against the better sides.
Was it the right time to go? I would say yes. The last year has not been good for Murali. The turn is still there but the bite that he used to generate from surfaces is missing. Virender Sehwag's onslaught in the Mumbai test was probably the last straw. Murali was part of spin's golden generation (along with Warne and Kumble). The other two have gone and Murali is on his way out. Well bowled Murali, you will be missed.
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