Murali had it in him to take 1000 Test wickets: Ranatunga

Sri Lanka's foremost cricket captain Arjuna Ranatunga is disappointed about off-spin legend Muttiah Muralitharan bidding adieu to Test cricket.

He told The Hindu on Monday, “I definitely feel he has more cricket left in him. He could have played Tests for a couple of more years.”

Ranatunga believes Muralitharan could have managed his career better during the final phase. “I mean he could have cut short on Twenty20 and one-day cricket. These forms of the game should not have taken precedence over Test cricket. He should have, in fact, sought to prolong his Test career rather than play the Twenty20 games.”

The former Sri Lankan captain added, “Men like Sunil Gavaskar, Sachin Tendulkar and Allan Border are remembered for their exploits in Test cricket. Muralitharan too has achieved greatness in Tests but I feel he had it in him to pick up 1000 Test wickets.”

Having nurtured Muralitharan in his formative years, Ranatunga has played a huge role in the off-spinner's transformation as a match-winning bowler.

“There were times when Murali was on the brink. Especially in Australia when the chucking controversy broke out. He wanted to pack his bags and go home. I had to constantly tell him that I believed in him. In fact, we even played him as a fielder alone. I have backed him through thick and thin.”

The canny skipper revealed that ahead of Sri Lanka's triumphant campaign in the 1996 World Cup, he had to make a tough call.

“The selectors told me that if Muralitharan was picked for the World Cup and `called' again during the competition, the ICC would not allow a replacement for him. You see, Murali, at that point in time, had not been completely cleared. I said I wanted Murali at any cost and he played his part in our victory,” revealed Ranatunga.

He said Muralitharan evolved from being a bowler who sent down big off-spinners to becoming a more versatile customer. “His greatest strength is that he can turn the ball on any surface. But then, top batsmen got used to sharply turning off-spinners. Subsequently, Murali developed the one that spun away, the ball that straightened and bowled effectively from round the wicket.”

Ranatunga also spoke about how he combined with Muralitharan in setting up innovative fields. “I think we were the first to have the mid-on and the long-on up and straighter to set the batsman up. The batsman, attempting to clear long-on, would invariably be held at deep mid-wicket because of the spin. Earlier, captains would have a conventional mid-on, a long-on on the fence and a deep mid-wicket. We changed that.”