Muttiah Muralitharan Declared By The Star Sports' Jury As The Greatest Test Bowler Of The 21st Century

After Star Sports’ jury members adjudging Sachin Tendulkar as the best Test batsman of the decade, they named the best bowler in the format for the duration as well. The jury members had elite members like Ian Bishop, Harbhajan Singh, Shane Watson, Scott Styris, Gautam Gambhir, Sunil Gavaskar amongst others, with sports journalists and coaches marking their presence too. As a result, Muttiah Muralitharan has taken the honours.

Much like the best Test batsmen classification, Star Sports had nominated four of the best candidates for the best Test bowler in the men’s category. The nominees were Muttiah Muralitharan, Dale Steyn, Shane Warne, and Glenn McGrath. All four had been record-breaking bowlers for their countries in their heydays and magicians with the red ball.

Shane Warne and Glenn McGrath share more than 1200 wickets between them as they had been significantly responsible for Australia’s dominance in world cricket for a decade. Veteran South Africa speedster Dale Steyn is the only active player on the list, becoming the country’s highest wicket-taker before retiring from the format. Steyn has 439 scalps in 93 Tests at 22.95; however, frequent injuries forced him to give up Tests.

Muttiah Muralitharan captured more than 50% votes in the polls:

Nevertheless, all three could not surpass Muttiah Muralitharan, who remains the highest wicket-taker in Test cricket. The 49-year old former off-spinner has a staggering 800 wickets in 133 Tests at 22.73, with 67 fifers and 22 ten-wicket hauls. The renowned sports broadcaster in India had also given the fans to be part of the jury. Steyn bagged the second spot, while Warne and McGrath took the third and fourth position respectively.

Also Read: ICC WTC Final: Rishabh Pant Reveals His Favourite Test Cricketer