Muttiah Muralitharan

Muttiah Muralitharan is a Sri Lankan former cricketer whose off-spin bowling brought him the records for most wickets in Test and One Day International cricket.

Off-spin: A style of spin bowling in which a right-arm bowler turns the ball from the off side toward the leg side of a right-handed batter. Muralitharan’s main bowling style turned the ball sharply away from right-handed batters.
Test cricket: The longest international format of cricket, played over up to five days between national teams. Muralitharan’s 800 Test wickets remain the format’s highest career total.
Arjuna Ranatunga: A Sri Lankan cricketer who captained the national team to victory in the 1996 Cricket World Cup. Ranatunga publicly defended Muralitharan during the 1995 no-ball controversy.
Cricket records: Documented statistical achievements and milestones in the sport of cricket. Muralitharan’s international wicket totals set benchmarks across two major formats.
Doosra: An off-spinner’s delivery that turns away from a right-handed batter, opposite to conventional off-spin. Muralitharan used this variation to challenge batters expecting the ball to turn into them.
One Day International: An international cricket match in which each team faces a limited number of overs, traditionally 50. His 534 wickets are the highest career total in the format.
Shane Warne: An Australian leg-spinner widely regarded as one of cricket’s greatest bowlers. Warne’s contrasting spin style and records framed comparisons with Muralitharan.
Throwing in cricket: An illegal bowling delivery in which the arm straightens beyond the permitted limit during the action. The dispute over whether his action constituted throwing shaped his public legacy.
Carrom ball: A finger-flicked spin delivery released by snapping the ball between the thumb and a bent finger. It offers a contrasting release method to the wrist-driven variations associated with Muralitharan.
1996 Cricket World Cup: The international one-day cricket tournament won by Sri Lanka in 1996. Muralitharan was part of the team whose victory transformed Sri Lankan cricket.

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Wisden Cricketers of the YearBroader topic: His 1999 selection shows the honor reaching beyond English players and teams.