 Victoria’s elation at signing Muttiah Muralitharan for this summer's Twenty20 Big Bash may be short-lived. Sri Lanka's champion spinner and two of his countrymen could be forced to withdraw from the tournament.
In a potential blow for the Big Bash, which Cricket Australia is attempting to jazz up by encouraging states to recruit overseas stars, Sri Lanka has been invited to play in a triangular series involving India and Bangladesh for the first half of January that would clash with the Australian event.
Muralitharan this week spoke of his eagerness to represent the home state of the other great spin bowler of his generation, Shane Warne. However, his contract with Cricket Victoria stipulates that international cricket must take precedence.
Victoria is not the only state that would be affected; Lasith Malinga and Ajantha Mendis are aligned with Tasmania and South Australia, respectively.
''At the time when I signed it was free, now it is a problem because Sri Lanka has put a tour to Bangladesh that's not confirmed yet. In the contract I signed if it happens then I won't be able to come, because there's no point playing two or three matches rather than the whole thing. That's the only problem at the moment, otherwise I am happy to play there,'' Muralitharan said.
''Spinners play a big part in Twenty20, so I said 'OK'. I never played domestic cricket in Australia, I played in England but not other countries except in India because of IPL. I thought it's a good chance for me before we go to Twenty20 World Cup and IPL.''Muralitharan’s signing was a marvellous coup for Victoria not only because of his great charisma and 783 Test wickets - more than any other bowler - but because of his fraught history with Australians, from his longtime spin rival Warne, to umpire Darrell Hair, to former Prime Minister John Howard, to the crowds that heckled him.
His stint might have been a chance to heal old wounds, though the off-spinner said he had no qualms about returning to the place where he was called for throwing 14 years ago. And while he appears to have made peace with Warne, Muralitharan has not forgotten the reason he refused to tour Australia in 2004 - Howard's international faux pas in questioning his controversial action. ''Warnie is one of the greatest spinners I have ever seen and it's a privilege to [represent] his home state,'' Muralitharan said. ''Only problem was that comment by the ex-Prime Minister. It's not proper for the head of state to comment about someone's bowling, because that's not part of his job … after that I didn't have any problems.''
Though Muralitharan was quietly dropped by Sri Lanka for a Champions Trophy game this week, he wants to keep playing international cricket until the 2011 World Cup.
''That is the end I am thinking because I am 37 and I'm going to be 38 then. I think it’s high time because the young spinners are there to carry on the work. Maybe I might play Twenty20 or some other cricket around the world, if someone is interested to give me a contract.''
Each state is allowed to sign two overseas players and Victoria has also secured West Indies all-rounder Dwayne Bravo. Sri Lankan team manager Brendon Kuruppu confirmed the triangular series was pencilled in to finish on January 14, and that the Sri Lankan players were ''very unlikely'' to be available for the Big Bash. Still, they could conceivably appear towards the end of the Australian event, as the finals start on January 19. A Cricket Victoria spokesman said the Bushrangers were aware of the chance Muralitharan may have to represent his country instead of Victoria, but said the triangular series was not yet set in stone. They have until Christmas Eve to sign another overseas player if the Sri Lankans can't make the trip. --TheAge
|
E-mail