What’s the story?
Sri Lankan legend Muttiah Muralitharan said that he is looking forward to working again with the Chennai Super Kings franchise in the IPL after the former champions’ two-year suspension came to an end earlier this week.
The world’s leading wicket-taker has been part of the Sunrisers Hyderabad coaching setup in the recent seasons alongside Tom Moody and VVS Laxman but made no secret about his love for CSK.
“I have been associated with the team for quite a long time. But in the near future, if I again get an opportunity to work with CSK, I will enthusiastically do it,” he said. It comes hardly as a surprise considering how at ease he feels in the state of Tamil Nadu and especially Chennai. “I always prefer to be here. My grand parents are from Namakkal and I am also, right now, doing business in Tiruchirappalli. Many of my relatives are also from the state.”
In case you didn’t know...
Muralitharan started his IPL career with the Super Kings in the inaugural edition in 2008 and was the franchise’s leading wicket-taker after the first three seasons. He moved to Kochi Tuskers in 2011 and later to the Royal Challengers Bangalore side where he played for three seasons before retiring in 2014.
He was appointed as the bowling coach and mentor of the Sunrisers Hyderabad side ahead of the 2015 edition but is now eager to tie up again with the CSK franchise where his IPL career began.
The details
Muralitharan is already in Tamil Nadu as the mentor of VB Thiruvallur Veerans franchise in the second edition of the Tamil Nadu Premier League which is all set to begin from July 22.
Reprising his role from the inaugural edition, the leading wicket-taker in Test cricket is looking forward to guiding the youngsters in the role to the best of his abilities and is hopeful that the side can better their performance from last season when they finished sixth.
Turning the attention to CSK, who will be going all out to ensure that their big guns like skipper MS Dhoni, Dwayne Bravo, Ravichandran Ashwin, Suresh Raina and Ravindra Jadeja are back in their fold, Murali seems as excited to join the franchise as much as the players and fans.
Responding to the criticism faced by Ashwin due to his inconsistent performances in the shorter formats of the game, Muralitharan feels that the Indian off-spinner has improved his performances tremendously in the recent past and described the 30-year-old as a smart cricketer who can produce more match-winning performances in the future.
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What’s next?
The second edition of the TNPL will be held from July 22 to August 20 and will see 32 matches being played across three venues with the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai hosting the final. Muralitharan will be part of the Veerans coaching setup who has named B Arun as the side’s head coach.
Author’s take
With a long-continuing association with Tamil Nadu, it makes sense for Muralitharan to make Chennai his base and considering the success he enjoyed with CSK in the past, it is only natural that he wants to get back with the team for the next edition of the IPL.
That will also give him a chance to reunite with Ravichandran Ashwin who has blown hot and cold over the recent months after a prolific run with the Test side in the past two or three years. Perhaps Muralitharan wants to take it as a challenge to see Ashwin back to his best and considering his expertise, we shouldn’t be too surprised if Ashwin does indeed turn the corner.
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