800 on OTT: Why didn't Muttiah Muralitharan ever captain Sri Lanka? The legend himself answers...
Muttiah Muralitharan's countless triumphs and struggles, both on and off the field, are the subjects of the biographical drama '800', which is all set for its OTT debut
Last Updated: 02.41 PM, Nov 30, 2023
By his own admission, Sri Lankan legend Muttiah Muralitharan never sought captaincy in his long and illustrious career. The same career saw him endure several ebbs and flows, controversies, inquiries, boycotts and whatnot, and also reach the pinnacles of the sport in an undisputable manner. And yet, despite being the talisman of Sri Lankan and potentially even sub-continental cricket, the ace spinner never wished to captain his country in any format of the game.
The answer to that, he says, lies in the fact that he is a bowler. "If I am the captain, I might get selfish and end up bowling a lot. I wouldn't know when to change and when not to change," he said when in conversation with Cyrus Broacha on the 'Cyrus Says' podcast.
For Murali, the game of cricket was always in those little moments and evidently, he wasn't one to make elaborate plans about how he wished to go about playing the sport. It's the quintessence of Sri Lankan cricket, if you will, that he embraced wherein it was all about living in the moment and extracting as much fun and drama as possible while at it. So when he bowled, he confesses that every ounce of his concentration was spent on those six balls at his disposal and nothing else. And that may not be particularly helpful when you are captaining your side.
"See, I have sometimes fought with my captains, such as Mahela (Jayawardene), asking them to hand me the ball especially when a specific batsman is playing. Sometimes you feel very strongly that you can get that batter out and sometimes when the captain doesn't agree, you end up fighting (laughs)," he says.
"Captaincy is a lot of responsibility and you have to be mindful of not just yourself but also the other ten people - and I believe in concentrating a lot on each of my deliveries. If I am not able to relax myself, I won't be able to focus on what the other bowler is doing. So, it's best that a batsman is captaining the side because there's no such pressure," added Muttiah Muralidharan.
Of course, Murali's countless triumphs and struggles, both on and off the field, are the subjects of the biographical drama '800'. Directed by M.S. Sripathy, '800' stars Madhur Mittal in the role of the champion bowler and the film, made in Tamil, was released in theatres on 6 October 2023 to mixed to positive reviews. Following the theatrical run, the film is now set to release on OTT on December 2, 2023.