Murali out of first part of NZ tour

Against the wishes of captain Marvan Atapattu, Muttiah Muralitharan will not accompany Sri Lanka for the first part of their New Zealand tour. Instead the controversial offspinner is being asked to prove his fitness by playing in a domestic match, which is to be organized by the board.

Still Muralitharan expects to be fit enough to participate in the first Test against New Zealand, which starts on January 14th. This after strict and intense qym training and treatment routines.

Currently bowling 24 balls every other day, Murali will be asked to bowl more and more as his recovery progresses.

Sri Lanka begins the ODI leg of its tour on Boxing Day (26th December), as they start a 5-match limited overs series. They will then contest 2 Test matches.

Posted by Liam