Spin-King Muttiah Muralitharan latest inductee of ICC Hall of Fame

Legendary off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan is all set to be inducted into the ICC Hall of Fame later this summer, thereby, becoming the first Sri Lankan to receive the accolade. The spin-wizard will be formally inducted during the upcoming ICC Champions trophy in England and Wales, coming June.

Muttiah Muralitharan holds the record for most number of wickets in both Tests and ODIs, with 800 and 534 wickets respectively. The Sri Lankan has represented his team in as many as 495 matches cumulatively across all formats. Muttiah Muralitharan has amassed 67 five-wicket hauls and 22 ten-wicket hauls in a match overall in his Test career.

The CEO of Sri Lankan Cricket seemed elated while announcing the news. He stated that it was a matter of great pride for Sri Lanka with the spin-wizard scheduled to be felicitated with the highesht honor.”It gives us immense sense of pride that Murali is receiving this highest honor. We are proud of him and the glory he has brought to Cricket in Sri Lanka. His illustrious career demonstrates that he belongs to this highly prestigious group” quoting Ashley De Silva according to saying on srilankacricket.lk

ICC chairman Dave Richardson went ahead and congratulated the spin maestro who was a part of the World Cup-winning squad in 1996. He congratulated by saying, “Muralitharan has been one of the greats of the modern era. His guile and consistency over the years helped Sri Lanka develop as a very competitive side in both Tests and ODI cricket.”

Along with Muralitharan, Australia captain Karen Rolton, Arthur Morris and Englishman George Lohmann were also upvoted to receive the honor. Richardson further augmented that the contribution of these gentlemen to the game of cricket has been unparallel. “We have in the list some very famous names of different eras. Lohmann and Morris were outstanding performers during their times and are part of cricket folklore, while Rolton’s performances have been recent and came during an era when women’s cricket became very competitive,” concluded Dave Richardson.