I want to prove a point: Muralitharan

Lankan off-spinner is not convinced about ban on his doosra.

Muttiah Muralitharan will not take things lying down. The International Cricket Council's banning of his doosra delivery is something he has accepted and adopted, but by no means is he convinced that it is all very fair. He is out to prove his case, and has gone to great lengths to do so.

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We caught up with the world's greatest off-spinner, sitting quietly in one corner of the Nondescripts Cricket Club ground where the Indians played a practice match on Wednesday.

"I want to prove a point to the people, so that they don't suspect me," Murali said about the tests conducted on his bowling arm by an Indian doctor in England recently. "Those with personal grudges can say whatever they want about me, but people should not misunderstand me.

"It (the test) is nothing technical. We used a high-speed camera, which shoots about 1000 frames a minute, to record my action. It is to be telecast on Channel 4 in England during the (West Indies-England) Test series.

"I have done my bit in it as well, talking people through my action. In the future we will try and provide the same footage to 2-3 channels in Asia so that people here can also see it."

Evidently, Murali does not think much of the ICC ruling, and the cloak and dagger manner in which things are decided in the world body.

"I cannot bowl the doosra, which is the one that turns like a leg-spinner. However, I can still bowl the top-spinner, which goes straight through, and the regular off-spinner.

"Anyhow, if you have a good off-spinner, you can still get plenty of wickets," Murali says with a lazy smile that promises a lot more trouble for batsmen all over in the years to come.

Another word that has become a favourite with Murali is ambition. "It is always good to be ambitious. While it is difficult to say what the future holds, and how things will work out for me or any other cricketer, I do have ambitions.

"I am planning to play for another six to seven years," he says. "Initially, I had thought in terms of three years, till the 2007 World Cup. But I think I am fit enough to keep playing for about six years."

He even has a figure in mind. "If I continue for another six years, I can get about 50 wickets per season, considering we play 10 Tests in a year. Last 2-3 years it was 80 per season. I'll still be young enough, at 38, and if I can stay fit, I can go through."

By that equation alone, we are talking of 300-350 more Test wickets, and this bowling phenomenon may turn finish up as the highest wicket-taker in both forms of the game.

Inevitably, the chat shifted to the series in Australia.

"I did not go due to personal reasons, and I did not miss going there," the offie says. "That issue is closed.

"It was not a bad series for us. We did OK. Not too many teams have done well in Australia and as far as we are concerned, it was not successful, but not disappointing."

Asked how he felt about Shane Warne closing in on his record, the off-spinner was suitably philosophical.

"Life is not certain, and everyone needs some joy in life. For Shane, it will be a happy moment to hold the world record. As for me, I think records are meant to be broken and I am not selfish about that. You should not be selfish about such things, which are good for world cricket.

"Anyhow, I don't know about Shane, but I think it is different for each bowler. I do it for my country."

On his personal form, Murali said: "I have not bowled for a month and just began a week ago. Let's see how it goes, since we are facing tough opposition in India and Pakistan."

Asked if teams like Hong Kong and the United Arab Emirates had diluted the Asia Cup, Murali said: "No one becomes a world beater out of the blue. It is only when such teams get opportunities that they will improve. Take a look at Bangladesh, how they have improved."