For my today’s weekend blog, I am still on to sports and this time it is cricket.
A- Muttiah Muralitharan is one of the most well-known cricketers in the world. The off-spinner made a name for himself with his magnificent bowling performances across different stadiums of cricket-playing nations. He has retired from international cricket, but he still entertains the fans with his off-spin in Legends League Cricket. Many fans loved to bowl with a similar action of Muralitharan in their childhood. Even the best spinners in gully cricket received the tag of ‘Muttiah Muralitharan’. Such was his impact on cricket fans.
Here is a list of six world records held by him that no other cricketer has achieved, and it will be difficult for future generations of cricketers to match his records.
1 Muralitharan has the most wickets
He owns the record for the highest number of wickets taken by a cricketer in international cricket. The former Sri Lankan spinner bagged 1,347 wickets during his cricketing career.
2 Muralitharan has the most five wickets haul in an inning
He also owns the world record for the most five-wicket haul by a bowler. He took 77 fifers in his career.
3 Muralitharan has the most 10 wickets haul in the test matches
He also owns the record for the most 10 wickets hauls by a bowler in international cricket. The off-spinner has achieved this feat 22 times in his career.
4 Most balls bowled
He has bowled the highest number of deliveries in international matches. Throughout his legendary career, he bowled 63,132 balls.
5 Most wickets in a calendar year
He was one of the most consistent bowlers of his time. Although more matches are played now, no bowler has been able to break his record of 136 wickets in 2001.
6 Most times dismissing players in single digits
Dismissing players in single digits helps the bowling team a lot. Muralitharan had a habit of this. The off-spinner dismissed players in single-digit 556 times, which is 41.3% of his total wickets taken, a fantastic achievement.
B- The Asia Cup cricket tournament is currently in progress, it started on 30th August 2023. There are six teams participating in this tournament, and they are India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, and Nepal. This time it is being played in One Day International (ODI) format. A majority of the players in the six squads are less than 30 years old, but the following five names are the only ones above 35.
5 Dimuth Karunaratne- Sri Lanka
Veteran batsman from Sri Lanka is the oldest player from his nation in the squad, he is aged 35 years and 130 days. He has been among the top run-scorers for the island nation in 2023. Fans will hope for some good performances from the senior player.
4 Mushfiqur Rahim- Bangladesh
Bangladesh has two cricketers aged more than 35 in their squad. The first is their wicketkeeper Mushfiqur Rahim. The right-handed batsman and wicketkeeper is 36 years and 95 days old.
3 Rohit Sharma- India
The Indian captain Rohit Sharma is the only player in the squad above the age of 35. The Hitman is 36 years and 113 days old. He proved his fitness by clearing the Yo-Yo test.
2 Shakib Al Hasan- Bangladesh
The captain of the team is the oldest Bangladeshi in his team. He is 36 years and 141 days old. Even at the age of 36+, he continues to be the best all-rounder for his team.
1 Mohammad Nabi- Afghanistan
The former Afghanistan captain is the oldest cricketer from his nation in this championship. He is all rounder (batsman/spinner). At the date of the squad announcement, he was 38 years and 238 days old.
In the end, age is only a number provided you are fighting fit to play for your national team.
Waiting for your views on this blog.
Anil Malik
Mumbai, India
1st September 2023