[Watch] Muttiah Muralitharan’s son has an identical bowling action to his legendary father

Sri Lanka’s spin wizard Muttiah Muralitharan has shared a video featuring him and son Naren bowling in the nets. What stands out about the clip is that Naren’s bowling action is a carbon copy of his legendary father.

Muralitharan holds the record for most wickets in both Tests and ODIs, having claimed 800 and 534 scalps in the two formats. The 2011 World Cup final against India in Mumbai was Muralitharan’s last international game.

On Thursday, Muralitharan shared a comparison video on his Twitter account in which both him and his son can be seen bowling in the nets. Muralitharan shared the video with the caption:

“Father and Son Time! Video credits @SunRisers.”

Father and Son Time! Video credits @SunRisers pic.twitter.com/Jv8fYOAZcp

— Muthiah Muralidaran (@Murali_800) July 15, 2021

Muralitharan, who is seen wearing Sunrisers Hyderabad’s (SRH) jersey, is the bowling coach of the IPL franchise. The Sri Lankan great was reported for suspect action more than once during his international career but rectified his bowling as per ICC regulations and came back stronger each time.

Muralitharan was part of the Sri Lankan team that won their maiden World Cup in 1996. He won many matches single-handedly for the team, especially in Test matches at home.

Muttiah Muralitharan hit out at senior players over contract dispute

A couple of days back, Muralitharan criticized senior cricketers in the national team over the central contracts pay dispute. A number of Sri Lankan players, including seniors like Angelo Mathews and Kusal Perera, have been involved in an ugly face-off with Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) over the new contracts.

In the wake of the pay dispute, Sri Lankan cricketers agreed to play against England on tour contracts. The new central contracts offer low base packages with performance-based incentives. According to Muralitharan, the senior cricketers refused to sign the contract because they were offered less pay under the modified system. Murali was quoted as telling Hiru TV:

“This year we think they don’t need a central contract, we can go with tour contracts.”

The Sri Lankan cricketers have signed tour contracts ahead of the limited-overs series against India, starting July 18. Former captain Mathews, however, pulled out citing personal reasons.

It was an honour to be the first Sri Lankan to be inducted in to The ICC hall of fame and my greatest strength is always having my wife by my side. #icchalloffame #icc #srilanka #family pic.twitter.com/pxYp4cOfR4

— Muthiah Muralidaran (@Murali_800) July 11, 2021

The white-ball series against India had to be rescheduled after a few members of the Sri Lankan contingent, including batting coach Grant Flower, tested COVID-19 positive on returning from England.