HE WAS a legend, a superstar, a hero in times of crisis. Muttiah Muralidaran was all that and more for Sri Lanka cricket.
He is the first global superstar of Sri Lankan cricket and will remain so for some time to come. He is to Sri Lankan cricket what Sachin Tendulkar is to Indian cricket.
Much like Tendulkar, Murali changed the way the market around cricket looked at Sri Lanka. Sponsors were willing to line up at Sri Lanka Cricket because Murali emerged on the scene and bamboozled batsmen.
His huge commercial hoardings across Colombo and other neighbouring regions showed the kind of influence he had in terms of reach and popularity. His presence at the top of the ladder helped Sri Lanka rake in the moolah.
There were others in the team like Sanath Jayasuriya, Arjuna Ranatunga and Aravinda De Silva. But there was none like Murali. His smile allied with his record made him a ready candidate for marketers to lap him up. Then came the likes of Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene, but it was always Murali who was the darling of the masses. His presence on the field meant crowds had something to cheer about all the time.
Along with Shane Warne, Murali had the aura on a cricket field which was hitherto only reserved for fast and mean bowlers. The duo changed the way cricket looked at spinners on and off the field.
Till the duo exploded on the scene the only types of people in cricket marketers depended on were batsmen and fast bowlers. Murali and Warne changed all that.
The two champion spinners combined their charisma and their wicket-taking ability to form an unbeatable combination. Both Warne and Murali used this to their advantage Murali used his stature to pump in relief and rehabilitation for tsunami-hit areas of Sri Lanka. For that he roped in Ian Botham and Warne.
Murali’s achievements also drew Sri Lanka away from a nation blessed with wonderful batsmen and brought the spotlight more on the bowlers.
Murali may not have drawn the highest deal in the first auction of the Indian Premier League in February 2008. But that is more because of the nature of the format. Being just a bowler, Murali would not have been the first choice of franchises. Mutli-skilled players like Sanath Jayasuriya, even if on the wrong side of 40, commanded a higher fee of $ 975,000. Murali’s paled in comparison at $ 600,000. But still, in comparison to his biggest rivals of his generation – Warne ($ 450,000) and Anil Kumble ($ 475,000) – Murali was higher.
The one axiom everyone accepts in sport is “never say never”, but seeing where Test cricket is headed, that Murali’s Mount 800 will never be breached is a given. But Murali’s legacy is not just about the number of wickets he took in a glorious Test career spanning 19 years, his significant achievement is also in how he opened up minds and views on his tribe.
