The Sri Lankan off spinner feels he is doing the right thing in the interest of Sri Lanka cricket by retiring earlier than previously planned.
muttiah muralitharan with team mates
Muttiah Muralitharan announced his retirement from international cricket - more specifically Test cricket - stating that he felt he should not wait for Sri Lanka's series against the West Indies and allow the youngsters to get a chance to shine.
Murali is eight wickets away from the 800 Test wicket mark. But he has decided he willr etire from Test cricket after the first Test against India and believes it would be great to end his Test career against a team ranked no.1 in the world.
Muralitharan has apparently not hung up his boots altogether at the behest of the Sri Lankan cricket board who want him around for the ICC World Cup 2011.
Here are excerpts of Murali's thoughts, "I have achieved what I wanted to achieve. There is nothing left or any target to reach. I was thinking about it for a long time and wanted to retire after playing the West Indies. “However, I did not want to keep so many talented youngsters waiting. I changed my decision and thought why not retire against India since they are the number one Test side.
"I’m very happy because I have played Test cricket for so long. The decision to retire was not difficult. I am not getting any younger. You can’t play for ever and ever."
He may not be able to play forever, but his records will certainly continue to be used for recall for time immemorial.
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