Muttiah Muralitharan to Retire from Test Cricket After First Test against India in July 2010

Sri Lankan off spinner Muttiah Muralitharan has announced that the upcoming first test against India in Galle in July would be his last in his test career. However, the 38-year-old would continue playing limited overs cricket for Sri Lanka.

Muttiah Muralitharan is the highest wicket taker in both ODI and Test versions of the game. He surpassed Shane Warne in December 2007 to become the leading wicket taker in test cricket and currently has 792 wickets to his credit. In ODI, he replaced Wasim Akram as the highest wicket taker in February 2009 and has so far claimed 515 wickets to his name.

Muttiah Muralitharan has not been at his best over the last couple of years and there were rumors regarding his retirement at the media.

Muralitharan reached this decision after talking to the selectors of national cricket team and Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) officials. SLC would now officially reveal the retirement decision of Muralitharan.

India and Sri Lanka are going to play a three-match test series starting with the first test being kicked off from 18 July. The match will end on 22 July which would be Muralitharan’s last day in test cricket (if the match goes into fifth day).

His retirement would definitely leave a big gap in Sri Lankan cricket team. Muttiah Muralitharan is a legendary bowler and it is not easy to find a like for like replacement for a bowler of his stature.