Why Muralitharan believes his 800 Test wickets record unbreakable

Legendary Sri Lankan off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan is concerned about the future of Test cricket. He feels that his 800-wicket Test cricket record is likely unbreakable.

Muttiah Muralitharan dominated world cricket for more than 25 years. Although he retired from international cricket for more than ten years, there is still no bowler to get closer to his international cricket records - most Test wickets and most ODI wickets.

In his 350 ODIs, Muralitharan took 534 wickets. Although he became the second 500-wicket taker in ODI history, after the legendary Pakistan left-arm fast bowler Wasim Akram, he soon broke that record and finished as the leading wicket-taker in ODI history.

Meanwhile, Muralitharan retired from Test cricket with his 800th Test wicket. In his 133 Test matches, the off-spinner took 800 Test wickets, as he was the only bowler to record more than 750 Test wickets. 

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I am definitely worried about Test cricket: Muttiah Muralitharan

Muralitharan is worried about the future of Test cricket, as most of the countries are giving less interest to this oldest format of the game.

Muralitharan said to the Daily Mail, "I am definitely worried about Test cricket. Every country will play maybe only six or seven Test matches. England and Australia might play the Ashes. But, in some other countries, not many people are watching. There will be very little Test cricket." 

While the legendary Australian leg-spinner Shane Warne ended his Test career with 708 Test wickets, legendary English pacer James Anderson recently retired from the game after picking up 704 Test wickets. So, there are only three names in the list of 700 or more Test wickets. 

Among the active bowlers, only Aussie off-spinner Nathan Lyon and India off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin are competing with 500+ Test wickets. While Lyon has 530 wickets in 129 Tests, Ashwin has 516 wickets after 100 Tests. 

Careers are shorter now: Muttiah Muralitharan

Muralitharan feels that his record of 800 Test wickets is hard to break due to the higher importance to short-form cricket and shorter career. 

The legendary off-spinner added, "It's very hard (for someone to surpass 800 Test wickets), because emphasis has shifted to short-form cricket. Also, we played for 20 years. Careers are shorter now."

Talking more about this problem, Muralitharan pointed out a lack of steadiness due to excessive tournaments. 

Muralitharan continued, "Consistency is the problem. It's not about how good they are, because they all are talented. The only thing is how can they become experienced? Nowadays, it's difficult. There are too many tournaments and things in their heads." 

Although the ICC World Test Championship has brought some seriousness back in Test cricket, the below-ranked teams are still far away from putting this competition in their priority list.