Why they rank here
Muttiah Muralitharan is the most successful bowler in history, with 800 Test wickets and 534 in ODIs, 1,347 international wickets, a total no one else approaches. Bowling off-spin with a uniquely flexible wrist and a doosra that turned the other way, the Sri Lankan took five wickets in a Test innings 67 times and ten in a match 22 times, both records. He claimed his 800th and final Test wicket with his last delivery, against India at Galle in 2010. His action was scrutinized and twice cleared by biomechanical testing, controversy that shadowed but never diminished his output. For two decades he was Sri Lanka's match-winner, capable of running through sides on turning pitches and containing on flat ones. Sheer volume of wickets, across formats and conditions, makes him the benchmark against which all spin bowlers are measured.
Career profile
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