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Sri Lanka once again rallied behind Muttiah Muralitharan and rejected former Indian spin wizard Bishen Singh Bedi's recent demands to ban the magician from international cricket.

Bedi urged the International Cricket Council (ICC) to ban Muralitharan arguing that he chucks. But the team management dismissed charges as flimsy, baseless and far from reality with manager Chandra Schaffer saying it was an opinion of a disgruntled individual. "I don't know how many people take Bishen Bedi seriously nowadays. I think he thrives on controversies, so I leave it to that," Schaffer said.

Schaffer said Muralitharan had been cleared once and for all but agreed that the spinner had not been given the licence to throw. "That can happen to anybody. Even Waqar Younis can be no-balled by the umpire tomorrow. That's part of the game. But the bottomline is that Muralitharan's action has been cleared and that's the end of the story."

Muralitharan was no-balled seven times in an over by Darrel Hair in a 1995-96 Test in Australia. Fingers have pointed as Muralitharan since but has never been reported or called after Arjuna Ranatunga withdrew his team from the ground and later the Board of Control for Cricket in Sri Lanka (BCCSL) threatened to take the ICC to the court. It was on BCCSL's request the ICC did not post Hair in any of the 1999 World Cup matches involving Sri Lanka.

Hair's compatriot Daryl Harper is the ICC umpire in the Asian Test Championship final. But another Australian Dav Whatmore ruled out fears that Muralitharan might be called or reported again. "I don't think Muralitharan is under scrutiny. There is no chance of being called or reported again. Frankly speaking, I am not expecting anything like that," he said.

He reiterated that Muralitharan's action had been proven free of any guilt and urged the critics to forget the issue and move forward. "If it (Bedi's views) were meant to disturb anyone, it has not worked because we are firmly behind Muralitharan and things haven't changed really," he added.

Sanath Jayasuriya, the Sri Lanka captain, said he was disturbed and disappointed to read Bedi's observations and demands. "I think he has played enough cricket to say such a thing. Muralitharan has been cleared by everyone after it was proven medically that he doesn't throw."

Pakistan captain Waqar Younis chided: "It's too late to ban him now after he has taken 400 wickets and bamboozled best of the teams on every surface." Bedi last month had argue that a blind man cannot be given permission to fly a plane and if Muralitharan had an abnormality with his bowling arm, it was just bad luck for him. Muralitharan has more than 400 Test wickets.

© Dawn