"He is able who thinks he is able." -Buddha

He is an able man; he has claimed 350 Test wickets and 250 ODI wickets so far in international cricket. He bowls almost 60 overs in a Test match and one in every four is a maiden. He gives the ball enormous tweak and twirl that the ball spins so much and at times strikes like a King Cobra. He is the world's premier off spinner, Muttiah Muralitharan.

Audio Interview

Murali has seen the highs and lows in his career, but has always believed in his ability to get wickets. He is indeed a humble human being with that twinkle in the eyes. This magician from Kandy in Sri Lanka, is definitely the most popular man in his country. Muralitharan's bowling is a delight to the connoisseur's eye, an inspiration to a whole generation.

In an exclusive interview to CricInfo, the master off spinner said, "My career is going on well at the moment, whatever I have been planning to achieve, is happening."

When asked about growing up as a cricketer in Sri Lanka, Muralitharan said, "In Sri Lanka the game is played everywhere, it is a popular game, even though rugby is also there. Everybody wants to play and there is a good structure in place, which includes the school system, where they play each other a lot."

There is something about the cricket that Sri Lankans play; there is a lot of flair, almost reminding one of the calypso brand of cricket. Muralitharan believes that it is mostly because of the abundance of talent and the wonderful team spirit. "They play positive cricket and try to enjoy than putting pressure on themselves."

The king of off spin reckons that the foundation of Sri Lankan cricket is strong. Lots of talent is spotted and nourished through the school system. Two hundred schools compete in three divisions, U19s and U17s play One-Day cricket, U15s and U13s play Two-Day cricket. "The competition and motivation is always there."

Muralitharan showered praises on his former skipper Arjuna Ranatunga, "Arjuna was the most talented player ever produced by Sri Lanka. He is the best Captain that I have ever seen." Muralitharan says that Ranatunga helped the players a lot by sorting out their problems. As a skipper, Ranatunga always stood by his players and ensured that the team stood together.

Murali added, "He was a great captain. Whatever I am today is because of him, my career is because of him, he did so much for me. When I started and went through a rough patch, he helped me a lot." He paid rich tribute to Ranatunga, "If there are more captains like him, younger players will benefit a lot."

When the offie was asked about the controversy about his bowling action, he was quick to acknowledge the support he received from Ranatunga, Aravinda De Silva and Sri Lankan cricket board. "Arjuna said don't worry, I will take care of the matter, you just go out and bowl."

Muralitharan keeps a positive outlook to his life always. When asked, what makes the Lankans play such attractive and enjoyable cricket amongst all the violence that goes on in the country, Murali said, "The war has been going on 20 years, you never know when it is going to stop. If it stops and there is peace in the country, it will be the best countries in South Asia."

Muralitharan reckons that things happen in life and one can't afford to worry too much about it. Life has to go on and one has to concentrate on its brighter side. With all the money coming into the game in Sri Lanka the off spinner thinks that there will be more professionals and things will improve.

Muralitharan thinks that Saqlain Mushtaq is a very good bowler. "If you take a look at his record you will see that he has taken about 150 Test wickets, I think it is not bad for an off spinner." He didn't want to comment on Harbhajan Singh as he was too young and has yet to prove himself in the long run.

"People can have success for a few months or a year or two, you have to continue and keep your head cool and keep on going. Harbhajan Singh has the talent and needs to use it." The world's numero uno off spinner thinks that one can train a fast bowler, but spin bowling is a difficult art to learn.

Muralitharan has had good success in South Africa in Test cricket. He picked up 11 wickets in the Durban Test match, on a bouncy wicket. When asked what advice he will give to Harbhajan Singh, he said, "It is a hard job try to take wickets in South Africa. The bounce helps the faster bowlers not the spinners, you have to turn the ball a lot in those conditions. The bounce is there and you can take wickets. If you couldn't turn then it will be a problem. So it will all depend on him, if he turns the ball, he will get wickets."

About his eight-wicket haul on the first day in the third Test match against India, Muralitharan thinks he made use of the early bounce and the fact that the Indian batsmen played some careless shots helped him.

Muralitharan is one of the most feared bowlers in international cricket. He reckons that bowling to all the five or six top batsmen in every team is a bit difficult. "There is the technology to help batsmen, they know what you are doing, you have to wait for the batsmen to make mistakes to capitalise."

The master revealed the secret behind his huge success as an off spinner, "You can't take wicket with every ball you bowl, you have to learn to be patient, success will come if you are patient enough."

© CricInfo