Muralitharan Retirement Confirmed

It was speculated that Muttiah Muralitharan from Sri Lanka, would retire from Test cricket after the West Indies series in November. But the spin wizard has pre-poned his retirement from the longer version of the game, and has confirmed that he will call it quits after the first test match against India on July 22. Muralitharan's retirement will leave a big hole in Sri Lankan cricket, one which might never be filled again. Muralitharan has stressed on the fact that he will continue playing ODI cricket for his country and most probably will represent them in the 2011 Cricket World Cup which will be played in India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.

Muralitharan is the leading wicket taker in both Test cricket and ODIs. So phenomenal is his records that there doesn't seem to be anyone likely to break them in the near future. In Tests, he has taken a whopping 792 wickets, while second placed Shane Warne retired at 708 wickets. In the ODI version, he leads at 515 wickets, while again second placed Wasim Akram retired at 502 wickets. With more than 1300 international wickets to his credit, he is arguably the finest spinner in the history of the game, along with Shane Warne of Australia and Anil Kumble of India.

Muralitharan's manager said that he had planned to retire in the November series with the West Indies, but with an unscheduled series against India being put into the calendar, he has decided to bring forward the time of his retirement. He also said that Murali will stick around in ODIs just in case Sri Lankan cricket is unable to find a suitable replacement for him for the 2011 World Cup.

Muralitharan's retirement is indeed sad news for his millions of fans worldwide. Take a bow for the highest wicket taker ever, as he walks off the Test cricket field for the last time later this month.