IPL 2020 | Will have to adapt to no crowd support, reckons Muttiah Muralitharan
Muttiah Muralitharan was part of CSK team that won 2010 IPL
|Muttiah Muralitharan has reckoned that since SRH used to win lots of their home games with crowd support, they will now have to adapt to the no-crowd atmosphere in this COVID induced IPL. He added that SRH has world-class spinners and their bowling lineup is better than the 2019 edition.
Sri Lankan cricket legend Muttiah Muralitharan was appointed bowling mentor of Sunrisers Hyderabad before the 2015 edition of the IPL after he decided to retire from IPL as a player in 2014. Even in the later stage of his career, despite being in his early 40s, Murali was easily the most excited player on the field. His trademark smile whenever he got called on to bowl was maintained by him even in the fag end of his career, goes to show his passion and motivation for the game.
On the similar lines, the highest wicket-taker in Tests and ODIs reckoned that the SRH team players will have to find their motivation with no crowd supporting them, unlike previous editions where they had won most of their home games as they had the full support of their fans.
“Without spectators, the motivation level, we will have to see. Generally, SRH wins a lot of matches at home with all the crowd support but this time there will be no home-away thing…We will have to adapt,” Muralitharan said as quoted by Hindustan Times.
“Maybe it will be easier for players to concentrate as they will be in an environment where they can only think about the game.”
SRH has arguably one of the best if not the best spin bowling lineup in the current season. Their lineup has the likes of Rashid Khan, Mohammad Nabi, and Shahbaz Nadeem, giving the lineup plenty of variety along with quality spin bowling. Murali opined that SRH’s spin bowling department is better than that of last season.
“We have Rashid (Khan), who is a world-class spinner, and (Mohammad) Nabi who is an experienced spinner. We have new additions in all-rounder spinners like Sanjay Yadav, Abhishek Sharma. We also have Shahbaz Nadeem. The spin department looks better than the 2019 edition,’’ he said.
The rise of Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav has seen off-spinners becoming a rarity in India’s limited-overs line-up. The exclusion of Ravichandran Ashwin is a direct consequence of the duo’s rise. The 48-year-old legend did not support the notion that leg-spinners might be better suited for T20s. He added that the false belief that leg-spinners are better than off-spinners in India stems from the fact that Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal have been doing exceptionally well in the recent past.
“In India, there is a belief that leg-spinners are better than off-spinners. Especially, in the Indian media. Maybe, that’s because you have two world-class leg-spinners in Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal. The others teams of the world do not have that luxury. If you see the history, off-spinners have more control than leg-spinners. If he is a talented bowler, he will do well,” he added.
