Deshabandu Muttiah Muralitharan (Tamil: ???????? ?????????, Sinhalese: ????????? ?????????; also spelt Muralidaran; born 17 April 1972) is a former Sri Lankan cricketer who was rated the greatest Test match bowler ever by Wisden Cricketers' Almanack in 2002. He retired from Test cricket in 2010, registering his 800th and final wicket on 22 July 2010 from his final ball in his last Test match. Muralitharan holds the world record for the most wickets in both test and one-day cricket. In 2017, he became the only Sri Lankan to be inducted into the ICC Hall of Fame. He won the Ada Derana Sri Lankan of the Year in 2017.

Muttiah Muralitharan
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Muralitharan at the CEAT Cricket Ratings Awards in February 2013
Personal information
Full name	Muttiah Muralitharan
Born	(1972-04-17) 17 April 1972 (age 46) Kandy, Dominion of Ceylon
Nickname	Murali
Height	5 ft 7 in (1.70 m)
Batting	Right-handed
Bowling	Right-arm off break
Role	Bowler
International information
National side	Sri Lanka (1992–2011)
Test debut (cap 54)	28 August 1992 v Australia
Last Test	18 July 2010 v India
ODI debut (cap 70)	12 August 1993 v India
Last ODI	2 April 2011 v India
ODI shirt no.	08
T20I debut (cap 13)	22 December 2006 v New Zealand
Last T20I	31 October 2010 v Australia
Domestic team information
Years	Team
1991–2009-10	Tamil Union
1999, 2001, 2005 and 2007	Lancashire
2003	Kent
2008–2010	Chennai Super Kings
2011	Kochi Tuskers Kerala
2011–2012	Gloucestershire
2011	Wellington Firebirds
2012–2014	Royal Challengers Bangalore
2012–2014	Melbourne Renegades
2013	Jamaica Tallawahs
Career statistics
Competition Tests ODI FC LA Matches 133 350 232 453 Runs scored 1,256 674 2,192 945 Batting average 11.67 6.80 11.35 7.32 100s/50s 0/1 0/0 0/1 0/0 Top score 67 33* 67 33* Balls bowled 44,039 18,811 66,933 23,734 Wickets 800 534 1,374 682 Bowling average 22.72 23.08 19.64 22.39 5 wickets in innings 67 10 119 12 10 wickets in match 22 n/a 34 n/a Best bowling 9/51 7/30 9/51 7/30 Catches/stumpings 72/– 130/– 123/– 159/–
Source: Cricinfo, 8 January 2014

Murali became the highest wicket-taker in Test cricket when he overtook the previous record-holder Shane Warne on 3 December 2007. Muralitharan had previously held the record when he surpassed Courtney Walsh's 519 wickets in 2004, but he suffered a shoulder injury later that year and was overtaken by Warne.

Averaging over six wickets per Test, Muralitharan is one of the most successful bowlers in the game. Muralitharan held the number one spot in the International Cricket Council’s player rankings for Test bowlers for a record period of 1,711 days spanning 214 Test matches.

Muralitharan took the wicket of Gautam Gambhir on 5 February 2009 in Colombo to surpass Wasim Akram's ODI record of 502 wickets.

Muralitharan's career was beset by controversy over his bowling action for much of his international career. Due to an unusual hyperextension of his congenitally bent arm during delivery, his bowling action was called into question on a number of occasions by umpires and sections of the cricket community. After biomechanical analysis under simulated playing conditions, Muralitharan's action was cleare