Murali to retire from Test cricket next year

Sri Lankan spin wizard Muttiah Muralitharan said on Thursday that he is planning to quit Test cricket after next year’s series against the West Indies.

The 37-year-old off-spinner said he is eyeing the two Test matches against the West Indies in November next year as his farewell series because he feels his body cannot bear the rigours of five-day games for much longer.

“We don’t have many Test matches next year but I am thinking that next year’s Test series against West Indies (in November) will be my last two Test matches,” Muralitharan said after Sri Lanka registered a 36-run victory over Pakistan in the first ODI in Dambulla .

Muralitharan has been struggling with a knee injury for quite sometime, which forced him to stay out of Sri Lanka’s recent Test series win over Pakistan.

His decision came after doctors warned him against surgery at this moment as it could virtually see the end of his career.