Vijay Sethupathi reveals why Muttiah Muralitharan wants the actor to play his role

Muttiah Muralitharan once said popular actor Vijay Sethupathi that the latter could play the cricketer’s role if a biopic is made. Muralitharan had a controversial career for Sri Lanka, but it didn’t stop him from garnering laurels across formats. He is currently the leading wicket-taker in Test cricket and last played in the 2011 World Cup final against India at the Wankhede Stadium.

Sethupathi recently revealed that he would be acting in the biopic of the legendary off-break bowler. For the time being, Sethupathi’s next movie is with Thalapathy Vijay in Master. Throwing light on the biopic, he said that he had minimum interest in cricket from his childhood. However, it’s for the same quality that Muralitharan reckons makes him the apt candidate for the role.

I have not watched cricket even as a child: Vijay Sethupathi

“I don’t even watch cricket. The sport does not make me excited and it makes me feel bored. So, I have not watched cricket even as a child. In fact, I even told this to Muttiah Muralitharan sir and he immediately told that is the perfect quality for me to play the role,” Sethupathi was quoted as saying in The Times of India (TOI).

It has been learned Sethupathi would be starting shooting for the film after the lockdown comes to an end. At the present point in time, the COVID-19 pandemic has made sure that precautionary measures, including social-distancing and sanitisation, are being followed across the nation.

As far as the biopic is concerned, if reports are to be believed, the 96 actor will get professional training for cricket before the tour begins. There are also speculations that the film would be named as 800, the exact number of wickets picked by the Lankan legend. He did it in 133 matches to go with 45 four-wicket hauls, 67 five-wicket hauls and 22 10-wicket hauls in his career.

The now 48-year-old also managed to weave magic in ODI cricket. In 350 ODIs, he picked up 534 wickets with 15 four-wicket hauls and 10 five-wicket hauls. He made his debut way back in 1992 against Australia and his career spanned nearly a couple of decades.