Muttiah Muralitharan 'worried' about Test cricket's future

Former legendary Sri Lanka cricketer Muttiah Muralitharan has shared his thoughts on the future of Test cricket. It is worth noting that Muralitharan played 133 Test matches in his career and was one of the finest the game ever saw. His tally of 800 wickets is the highest in the longest format to this day. 

Discussing the future of Test cricket, Muralitharan opined that nobody will be able to surpass his tally in the longest format because of the changing landscape of sport. He also talked about two veteran spinners, Nathan Lyon from Australia and Ravichandran Ashwin from India, who have 530 and 516 wickets in the format, respectively. 

"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,” Muralitharan told the Daily Mail.

"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," he added.

Consistency is the problem: Muttiah Muralitharan

Furthermore, Muralitharan also talked about Sri Lanka’s recent performance in their series against England. Sri Lanka succumbed to losses in the first and second Test, but clinched a historic win at the Oval in the third and final Test of the series to settle with a 1-2 loss. Notably, Sri Lanka's last win at the Oval came way back in 1998, when Muralitharan played a key role in his team's 10-wicket victory.

Talking of the recent series, Muralitharan opined that the side’s subpar showing has been due to them not playing Tests consistently. “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,” he said.