Iconic Sri Lankan spinner Muttiah Muralitharan, who is currently the bowling coach and mentor for Sunrisers Hyderabad, has lauded ace Indian off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin for his hard work and will to improve all the time.
In an interview with the Times of India, Murali was asked about whether he feels that Ashwin has been struggling over the past few months. He responded, "I don't think so. Ashwin has been India's premier bowler for the last few years. He is someone who works hard at his game and looks to improve all the time. Just because he didn't perform as per expectations in one match or a series doesn't make Ashwin any less a bowler.
"Ashwin is a mature bowler who knows what he needs to do to be the best in the business," the Sri Lankan great added in support of India's No. 1 spinner. Muttiah Muralitharan also included Ashwin among the top spinners in the world at present. He said, "Ravichandran Ashwin, Nathan Lyon and Rangana Herath are some of the spinners who have done consistently well in recent years."
In response to a question on whether SRH has the best bowling attack in IPL 9, the crafty offie said, "Absolutely. We have the likes of Ashish Nehra, Mustafizur Rahman, Bhuvneshwar Kumar doing the job for us. I think we have been able to bowl at good areas in crunch situations which has helped us to do well in the competition so far and we hope to continue with this momentum and make the knockouts this season."
Opening up on his responsibilities as bowling coach and mentor for the Sunrisers, Muralitharan stated, "My role in the side is to guide the bowlers without actually altering their style or individuality."
The 44-year old is particularly impressed with Bangladeshi pace bowling sensation Mustafizur Rahman. "Mustafizur is one bowler who has the shown immense potential to turn things around for SRH. He has been a revelation not only for Bangladesh but also for SRH this season. I feel if he is nurtured - Mustafizur can certainly have a long career ahead of him," the legend said about the left-arm seamer.
Muttiah Muralitharan wrote off any chances of him taking up a coaching role with the Sri Lankan team. The 800-wicket man said, "Coaching a national side is not something I am looking at currently. The reason for that is - when you are part of the national side - you are away for longer periods of time and at this point of time I am happy to be taking assignments which don't require me to be away from family for long."
Murali concluded by providing his views on the present state of cricket in Sri Lanka. He stated, "I feel we are undergoing a transition period at the moment. It is important for us to be patient with the players and give them time to settle in the side."
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