Muttiah Muralitharan (born 17 April 1972 in Kandy, Sri Lanka), often referred to as Murali, is a Sri Lankan cricketer who was statistically rated as the greatest Test match bowler ever by Wisden Cricketers' Almanack in 2002. He is Test cricket's highest wicket-taker, having overtaken the previous record-holder Shane Warne on December 3, 2007, and is also second in the list of wicket-takers in One Day Internationals. Cricinfo, blank">Highest Test Wicket-takers Cricinfo, Highest ODI Wicket-takers Averaging over six wickets per Test, Muttiah Muralitharan is one of the most successful bowlers in the game, the greatest player in Sri Lanka's history. He plays domestic cricket for the Tamil Union Cricket and Athletic Club and county cricket for _Lancashire, as an overseas player.

Muralitharan's career been beset with controversy, with his bowling action being called into question on a number of occasions by umpires and sections of the cricket community. After biomechanical studies, Muralitharan's action was cleared by the International Cricket Council, firstly in 1996 and again in 1999. The legality of his doosra delivery was first called into question in 2004. Based on of official studies into bowling actions, the International Cricket Council revised the elbow flexion limits to applicable to all bowlers in 2005. Muralitharan's doosra falls within the revised limits. Before the rule was changed in 2004, Muralitharan had bowled with an elbow extending by 10.2 degrees, more than twice the legal limit of five. Muralitharan continued to be a dominant force in world bowling, breaking records in late 2007, however he was left out of a touring squad in early 2008, leading to speculation that Sri Lanka have chosen to begin building a younger squad.