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Spinners to play bigger role in this IPL, says Muralitharan

Cape Town: Muttiah Muralitharan said spinners will play a bigger role in the second edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) after watching the likes of Harbhajan Singh, Shane Warne and others perform over the past few days.

Writing in his diary for Cricinfo, Chennai Super Kings’ Muralitharan said Mumbai Indians bowler Harbhajan Singh’s performance showed that spin could be a factor.

“Harbhajan’s performance was the first sign that spin could be a factor in this competition. Since then we have seen Shane Warne rip leg-breaks like the old days, Daniel Vettori turned a game for Delhi Daredevils and I had a good night against the Royal Challengers,” wrote Muralitharan who holds the record for most number of wickets in both Tests and one-dayers.

“Albie Morkel was telling me that the pitches have been spinning all summer in South Africa so perhaps it has been a dry year.

“The fact that we are playing on tired squares at the end of the season may also be having an impact. Whatever the reasons, as a spinner, I’m obviously delighted.”

Close matches

Muralitharan also felt this season the matches will be closely fought.

“The cricket has been excellent. We have already seen some brilliant performances with several upsets. The truth is that results are going to be much harder to predict this year.

“Teams have learned a great deal from last year and they are much more evenly matched,” he wrote. — PTI

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