SLC to invite Muttiah Muralitharan for awards ceremony after final Test

The Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) Board is going to invite the former Sri Lankan player Muttiah Muralitharan to hand over the awards at the end of the ongoing series against Australia. The president of SLC Thilanga Sumathipala said that this move is taken as an attempt to repair the board’s relationship with Muralitharan which was spoilt by a war of words between the two parties before the series.

As quoted by Daily Mirror, the president stated, "I have asked the secretary Mohan de Silva to invite Murali to give away the awards on the last day of the final Test match.” He further added “Murali is welcome to witness the entire Test. At least we want him to remain present on the last day of the match on August 17, or on the day if the Test finishes early."

Earlier, just before the Sri Lanka – Australia Test Series began, tempers had flared between both the parties. In an earlier report, it was indicated that SLC was not happy with the spinner taking up a coaching role with the Australian side. The Australian Team had hired the former Sri Lankan bowler on a ten-day consulting role, which ended just prior to the first match in Pallekele.

It was suggested that Sumathipala did not object to Muralitharan’s new role with the away side, but later the president suggested that the record-breaking off-spinner had made an ethical breach by working against Sri Lanka. Sumathipala cited, in particular, the trials Muralitharan had endured regarding his action, in Australia.

Murali is the all-time leading wicket-taker in Tests with 800 wickets in 133 games. He was rated the greatest Test match bowler ever by Wisden Cricketers' Almanack in 2002. The bowler retired from Test cricket in 2010 after taking his 800th wicket on 22nd July 2010 against India. He is the also the first Sri Lankan player to be inducted into the ICC Hall of Fame.

As quoted by PTI in an earlier report, ICC Chief Executive David Richardson said, "Muralitharan has been one of the greats of the modern era. His guile and consistency over the years helped Sri Lanka develop as a very competitive side in both Tests and ODI cricket.”