Muralitharan boycotts Australian tour after PM's chucker remarks
Muralitharan boycotts Australian tour after PM's chucker remarks
Agence France-Presse, Colombo
Sri Lanka's star spinner and the world's highest Test wicket
taker, Muttiah Muralitharan, formally announced on Tuesday that
he would boycott an upcoming tour of Australia after Prime
Minister John Howard called him a "chucker."
Muralitharan handed over a letter to Sri Lanka Cricket seeking
to be excused from the Australian tour for "personal reasons,"
Sri Lanka Cricket spokesman Ray Illangakoon told AFP.
"He won't be going to Australia for personal reasons and he
handed over a formal letter about this to Sri Lanka Cricket CEO
Dulip Mendis," he said.
The 32-year-old spin wizard ended weeks of speculation on his
availability for the tour starting later this month after being
named in a 16-member squad for the two-Test series.
His pullout comes despite appeals from Sri Lanka Cricket as
well as national politicians that he take part in the tournament.
However, his fans had voted overwhelmingly against his touring
Australia.
The Sunday Times, which conducted a poll on whether he should
travel to Australia after Howard's remarks, reported that 82
percent of respondents said "no".
The off-spinner has 527 Test wickets to his credit.
Sri Lanka Cricket president Mohan de Silva said last week that
the cricket authority was encouraging Muralitharan to go to
Australia.
De Silva said it would advise Muralitharan not to bowl his
controversial "doosra" in Australia as he ran the risk of being
called for "throwing".
Sri Lanka has urged the International Cricket Council to
change the rules in order to end the row over the bowler's
"doosra", a delivery which spins away from right-handers instead
of coming into them like a normal off-break.
Muralitharan said in a statement earlier that he had been
defamed, pilloried and severely criticized by the world's cricket
media.
"Even the prime minister of Australia has called me a chucker
and then in the next sentence says I will be welcome to tour his
country," he said.