Only Harbhajan can match my Test record: Murali

Retiring Sri Lankan spin wizard Muttiah Muralitharan on Wednesday said among the current crop of slow bowlers, only Harbhajan Singh can match his record of scalping nearly 800 Test wickets.

Muralitharan, who will quit the longer version after the first Test against India beginning on July 18 at Galle, said the Indian off-spinner stood the best chance of emulating his feat.

“I think only Harbhajan can do this. I don’t know how old is he and how long he will continue. But he is the only one who can achieve this feat in Test Cricket,” Muralitharan told from Colombo.

With 792 Test wickets under his belt from 132 matches, Muralitharan needs eight scalps in his final Test match to reach the 800-mark.

In comparison, 30-year-old Harbhajan has 355 scalps from the 83 Test matches he has played so far.

With Twenty20 cricket taking precedence over other formats of the game, Muralitharan feared slow bowlers might struggle to survive and get where he has reached.

“In current scenario Test Cricket is dying. One day Cricket does not have bright future. Only Twenty20 is going to survive. So it will be difficult for any slow bowler to survive so long,” he said.

The wily off-spinner is just eight wickets away from the 800-mark but Muralitharan, who scalped 515 wickets from 337 ODIs, insisted he was not chasing any record.

“I don’t run after records. I have the world record in my name. Although if I could get eight more wickets, it will be a good way to end. I am sure I will be able to do that in one match. If not, no worries,” said the ace spinner.

Looking back at his illustrious career, Muralitharan identified batting greats Sachin Tendulkar and Brian Lara as his toughest opponents.

“If we talk about the consistency, then no other batman can match Sachin and Lara. They are the best against whom I have bowled.

“I had to do extra effort against them. I am happy that I will be able to bowl Sachin in my last Test,” he said.

Besides being the most successful bowler in the history of international cricket, Muralitharan has been part of Sri Lanka’s 1996 World Cup winning team but the off-spinner does have some regrets.

“I have achieved everything that an international cricketer can dream about. I have only one regret that I could not win (series) in India, South Africa and Australia. But one can not get everything in life,” he said.

Meanwhile, the immensely popular Sri Lankan cricketer is yet to make up his mind about the ODI World Cup to be held in subcontinent next year.

“I have not given it a thought yet. I can not say that it is off my radar but I will think about this. After that I will be able to say something about participating in the tournament,” he said.

In contrast, he remains very clear that he plans to play in the Indian Premier League, where he represents Chennai Super Kings, as long as possible.

“I want to continue playing in the IPL till franchise needs me. It is quite exciting and I wish to be a part of that excitement,” he said.

Another thing he has made up his mind about is not joining politics, like former colleagues Arjun Ranatunga and Sanath Jayasuriya.

“Neither politics nor coaching. I am not going to do either of this. I will travel around the world and enjoy life. I have been playing since two decades and could not spend time with family. Now I will compensate that,” he said.

Even though his decision to quit came as a surprise, Muralitharan said he thought a lot before deciding to quit.

“I was thinking about it for a long period. I just thought that it is the right time to do so, nothing else,” he added.

He also took the opportunity to congratulate his Chennai Super Kings captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni who got married this week.

“I knew he just got engaged but didn’t know he got married as well. Anyway, I congratulate him and wish him a happy married life,” signed off the star spinner.

Steve Waugh to join IPL Kochi?

Newly-formed Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Kochi is mulling to appoint former Australian captain Steve Waugh as a key adviser and technical consultant to the team.

Waugh was approached by Harshad Mehta, the Dubai-based chairman of Kochi, earlier this month and discussions were at an advanced stage for Waugh to spearhead the team’s maiden season in the expanded 10-team league next year, a report in

‘The National’ here said.

“We are trying to get Steve Waugh to be a part of the team. Waugh will be given a top position in the team with two layers of people below him,” Mehta told the daily.

Mehta said the franchise is also attempting to lure Mahela Jayawardene, the Sri Lanka batsman and leading scorer so far in the ongoing Twenty20 World Cup in the West Indies, away from Kings XI Punjab for next season.

“I like Mahela personally and have a very good relation with him. I was the first person to take him outside Sri Lanka to play in South Africa. My relation with him is over 20 years now. If he is available and if I have a successful bid, he will be part of the Kochi team,” Mehta said.

According to Mehta, Shanthakumaran Sreesanth, who hails from Kerala, has more or less agreed to join the team from the Kings XI.

“He is the best bowler but not very mature. He must have a target and everything will be good,” Mehta said.

The name of the team, the manager and the make-up of the squad will all be announced by the end of this month, he added.

What makes the Mongoose bat effective

“That small-looking thing in the hands of someone as huge as Hayden deceived everyone”

Matthew Hayden allowed his Mongoose bat to run a riot against Delhi Daredevils at the Ferozshah Kotla. Whenever he hit the bat, it stayed hit. But haven’t we already seen Hayden doing exactly the same thing with a regular bat? So what is really the difference between a regular and a Mongoose bat? For starters the blade is remarkably shorter than the regular bat, in fact, 33% shorter to be precise. But it weighs exactly as much as the regular bat. The weight which is taken away from the top is redistributed in the remaining half. It bears a striking resemblance to the bat we use during fielding drills. That bat is a lot lighter than the regular bat which is perhaps one of the reasons for using it. Hitting hundreds of balls during fielding drills takes a toll on the arm and that’s why most people prefer using a smaller bat. Also, since you mostly have to hit a stationary ball, the lack of blade isn’t a concern. A competitive match doesn’t give you such luxuries.

My first look at the Mongoose bat made me believe that the bowlers would easily get through under the bat. Bowling yorkers would prove to be an easy way to get rid of the dangerous man. Perhaps, even the Delhi bowlers thought along similar lines and bowled yorkers. But Hayden had it all planned.

Obviously we didn’t take into account the length of the handle which is remarkably longer to make up for the shorter blade. Looks can be deceiving and that small-looking thing in the hands of someone as huge as Hayden deceived everyone.

Another thing that baffled me was how effective this bat would be on the slow and low subcontinent tracks. Yes, the bat has a bigger sweet spot but what about the balls hitting the bottom of the bat? But my doubts were put to rest when I spoke to the director of the company which produces these bats. According to him the Mongoose bat has three times more wood at the bottom than the conventional bat which allows the batsman to hit even the yorkers and the low full tosses with a lot of power. And it was visible on Friday.

The Mongoose bat not only gives you more control over the willow but also increases your bat speed. The bat speed comes in quite handy when you’re trying to play an aggressive shot.

But the clincher came when the director confirmed the bat is made for playing in Twenty20 cricket and not in the other formats. And the reason for this is the missing top half of the bat makes playing the short-pitched deliveries slightly difficult. It also doesn’t give you any back-up in case of uneven bounce. You either hit the ball or run the risk of getting hit on the body. Obviously then, Hayden is willing to punt in order to hit bigger and better.

Also this bat is not for the people who bank on using the pace of the ball. Hayden’s batting wagon wheel showed that no runs were scored behind point on the off side which suggests that if you have a Mongoose bat in your hands that’s not the area you should be targeting. But that’s a small price to pay for being able to hit the yorkers and low full tosses because not many people are going to provide width in this format.