“I looked up to him and learnt things”: Muttiah Muralitharan remembers Shane Warne calling him a better bowler

Muttiah Muralitharan and Shane Warne were arguable the greatest ever spinners to ever play the game of cricket.

The demise of the Australian leg-spinner earlier this year shook the whole world. Shane Warne, who is regarded as one of the best players to ever play the game died of a suspected heart attack in Thailand in march this year. He made his debut against India and went on to become the best leg-spinner in the world.

Warne was the first bowler to complete the milestone of 700 test wickets. He ended his career with 708 test wickets, whereas he has 293 ODI wickets under his belt. Warne came into the limelight when he bowled the “Ball of the Century” in the 1993 Ashes.

Apart from his on-field records, Warne has had a lot of controversies throughout his career. He failed the drug test ahead of the 2003 World Cup. Warne even passed on the critical information to a bookmaker about the game.

Muttiah Muralitharan remembers Shane Warne

Former Sri Lankan spinner Muttiah Muralitharan remembers Shane Warne, and he also called Warne a better spinner than himself. Muralitharan insists that Warne was a better bowler than him, and he used to look at him to learn new things.

“I think he was better than me, when I was playing I looked up to him and learnt things from him. We all miss him,” Muralitharan was quoted as saying.

Balls bowled to take 600 Test wickets:

Muttiah Muralitharan 3️⃣3️⃣,7️⃣1️⃣1️⃣
JAMES ANDERSON 3️⃣3️⃣,7️⃣1️⃣7️⃣
Shane Warne 3️⃣4️⃣,9️⃣2️⃣0️⃣
Anil Kumble 3️⃣8️⃣,4️⃣9️⃣4️⃣ #ENGvPAK pic.twitter.com/HTKxQn5CuJ

— ICC (@ICC) August 25, 2020

Muralitharan is the highest wicket-taker in the history of test cricket with 800 test wickets, whereas Shane Warne is the 2nd highest with 708 test wickets under his belt. Although, during their playing days, both had a spat in 2007 when Warne questioned the action of Murali, and Murali called Warne a “miserable man”.

There was always debate about the better bowler between Warne and Murali. Muralitharan took the most number of wickets, but the ability of Warne to turn the ball in any conditions in the world always gave him an edge. Murali played his last test against Test in Galle on 18 July 2010.