“A wicket is a wicket, be it left- or right-handed batsmen,” says Muralitharan

By Bipin Dani

The world's highest wicket-taker Muttiah Muralitharan is not losing sleep over his record, of dismissing the most number of left-handed batsmen in Test cricket, being broken. 

On Tuesday, when India’s right-arm off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin bowled Australia's Josh Hazlewood in the second innings of the second Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) he became the bowler to dismiss the most left-handers in Test cricket, surpassing Muralitharan who had 191 dismissals against left-handed batsmen. 

"I don't look at this way. A wicket is a wicket-be it a left handed batsman or the right-handed. At the end of the day the win for the country is counted,” Muralitharan said. 

Muralitharan, however, was "more comfortable" bowling to the right-handed batsmen. 

"It is because there are not many left-handers in a team. We see two or three left-handed batsmen whereas the other batsmen are right-handed.”

Other bowlers in the list for most dismissals of left-handed batsmen are James Anderson (186), Glenn McGrath (172), Shane Warne (172) and Anil Kumble (167). 

Muralitharan's record of highest Test wickets (800) is however unlikely to be surpassed by any bowler in the near future.