Question 1

True or false: He is the only bowler to take 800 Test wickets, all for Sri Lanka.

Accepted Answer

True. Muralitharan finished with 800 Test wickets, all for Sri Lanka, a feat no other bowler has matched.

Question 2

True or false: He holds the record for most ODI wickets with 534, surpassing Wasim Akram.

Accepted Answer

True. Muralitharan ended with 534 ODI wickets, the highest in history, ahead of Wasim Akram's 502.

Question 3

True or false: Muralitharan never played a Test match outside Asia due to fitness concerns.

Accepted Answer

False. He played Tests in Australia, England, South Africa, New Zealand, and the West Indies, taking wickets everywhere.

Question 4

True or false: He once bowled a delivery that spun so much it hit the wicketkeeper’s helmet behind the batsman.

Accepted Answer

False. This is an exaggerated myth; no official record confirms such a delivery, though his spin was famously extreme.

Question 5

True or false: Muralitharan once took all 10 wickets in a Test innings against England.

Accepted Answer

False. He took 9/51 against Zimbabwe in 2002 and 9/65 against England, but never a full 10-wicket innings haul.

Question 6

True or false: Muralitharan took a Test hat-trick against the West Indies in 2001.

Accepted Answer

True. He dismissed Brian Lara, Ridley Jacobs, and Dinanath Ramnarine in consecutive deliveries in Kandy, February 2001.

Question 7

True or false: Muralitharan was banned from bowling by the ICC for a suspected illegal action in 1995.

Accepted Answer

False. He was called for throwing in 1995 during a Test in Australia, but never officially banned; biomechanical tests later cleared him.

Question 8

True or false: He was born with a congenital deformity in his bowling arm that allowed extra wrist flexion.

Accepted Answer

True. Muralitharan has a condition called congenital talipes equinovarus (clubfoot) and a bent elbow, giving him unique spin.

Muttiah Muralitharan Trivia Questions