HARARE, 17 May 2004 — Test cricket’s leading wicket taker Muttiah Muralitharan has said he will boycott Sri Lanka’s tour of Australia next month because of comments made by Australian Prime Minister John Howard about his bowling action.
Howard made the comments in the wake of the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) decision that Muralitharan’s doosra delivery, which breaks away from right-handed batsmen, falls foul of its regulations on throwing.
“I won’t be going because of the Australian prime minister,” Muralitharan told reporters yesterday before the Sri Lankan team management stopped him from commenting further.
But Sri Lankan captain Marvan Atapattu questioned whether Muralitharan, who holds the world record for Test match wickets with 523, had made up his mind fully on the issue.
“I don’t think he has made a decision as such,” Atapattu said.
“Murali is a guy who will not miss even a practice game because he loves playing so much.
“We’ll try and talk him out of it but I don’t think he’s made a firm decision as yet. Nothing is finalized.”
However, Sri Lanka team manager Ajit Jaysekera suggested that off spinner Muralitharan would be true to his word.
“He’s very upset by what has been said by the Australian prime minister, and has virtually made up his mind that he will not be touring Australia,” Jaysekera said.
