Muttiah Muralidharan

Galle: Muttiah Muralidharan is back in the Sri Lankan Test team and not too bothered by the challenge of monopolising the world record he shares with Australia’s Shane Warne.

The Galle pitch traditionally favours spinners and has been a happy hunting ground for Muralidharan. Thrice has he claimed more than ten wickets in Tests here — against South Africa in 2000, England in 2003 and the West Indies in 2001.

Muralidharan and Warne both have 527 wickets but the former is expected to take a significant lead at the end of the two-Test series against South Africa starting on Wednesday.

Though banned from bowling the controversial doosra by the ICC, Muralidharan said on Tuesday that he is not relying only on the off-spinner’s ‘googly’ at a venue where he has taken 82 wickets in ten Tests.

“Yes, it spins a bit here,” he said. “I like bowling in these conditions,” Muralidharan said. “If I bowl well I will take some wickets again, specially if they (the batsmen) do not perform well. But you cannot say how many wickets you will get. There are other bowlers in the side as well.”

Making the surprising admission that he is a bad reader of pitches, Muralidharan felt the battle between him and Warne is being overplayed by the media.

“Every match we play there will be those who will be saying that I have passed him (Warne) and that in the next match he has passed me,” he said. “As we are going to be around for a long time, it is one of those facts of life and the public will have to get used to this. But I am not worried by it at all.”

Muralidharan skipped Sri Lanka’s tour of Australia last month citing personal reasons. Sri Lanka played Tests in Darwin and Cairns with Warne equalling the record in the second Test. (AP)