Dubai: Muttiah Muralitharan, who is playing for Gemini Arabians in the Masters Champions League (MCL), is arguably the greatest spinner of all time. It is by mastering the art of spin, especially the different variations, that he bamboozled even the best of batsmen around the world. Speaking to Gulf News, this legendary cricketer revealed how it felt to be the highest wicket taker in Test matches and One Day Internationals and how he went about it.

But he did say it was difficult to master the art of spin and those different variations. “It was hard. I took 25 years and along the way I learned a lot. One can learn anything throughout your career and one cannot learn it very quickly and it did take a lot of time,” said the Sri Lankan, whose mastery of the art resulted in him picking up 800 wickets in Test matches and 534 wickets in One Day Internationals.

How did Muralitharan feel when he became the highest wicket-taker and what did he tell himself at the pinnacle of cricket glory? “Highest wicket-taker too happened over the years and over a period and you don’t just plan for it. You play for your team and try to win matches for the team and wickets come your way. It happened to me like that,” he remarked modestly and went on to quickly add: “It feels good to be the highest wicket taker in both forms of the game, something special because it is not something that most people can do.”

Muralitharan, on his day was deadly. He could run through any battling line-up with ease. He bagged 10 wickets in a match some 22 times in Test matches. Does Muralitharan get the feeling as soon as he bowls that it is his day, especially before producing such deadly spells? “Not really, because it is all up to the batsmen and me and the team and how we do. It depends on the day and I can never say beforehand this is my day,” said Muralitharan, who is any captain’s delight as he almost always ensures a breakthrough whenever introduced to bowl.

Has Muralitharan ever felt batsmen getting nervous whenever he is called to bowl at them? “I don’t think so but any batsmen when he comes out to bat he will have a little bit of nerves. Even the bowlers bowling the first over will be nervous and after that it goes off. It always happens. So it is very difficult to say a batsman is nervous or anything. It is very hard to detect.”

The star added though that different wickets do matter to different bowlers. “Wickets do matter to any bowler. If you have a good turning track it is useful for a spinner otherwise it will be difficult, said Muralitharan, who also revealed that the country he loves to bowl in is his home Sri Lanka. “I like to bowl in my own country because I am used to the conditions there,” he said. For a bowler who made every batsmen struggle, whom did Muralitharan find the toughest to bowl to in his career? “I have played against lot of great batsmen but one person I found very hard to bowl to is Brian Lara. I have played a lot of Test matches against him and he was one of the best players of spin and so he dominated me.”

So will Lara be a threat again when he bowls to him on January 30 in the MCL match against Leo Lions in Dubai? “In MCL I don’t think I may have to worry much about him because he is much older than me and I think I will be better off than him,” he said.

The secret to winning in MCL matches? “Keeping fit is the key to success,” he said.