Muralitharan to play for any team in IPL `with whole heart`

Madurai: Sri Lankan spin wizard Muttiah Muralitharan on Thursday said he is ready to give his best for any team that opts for him in the Indian Premier League auction to be held on February 4.

"I have to be chosen in the auction. I don`t know what will happen in February. We will see. If I am chosen, I will play.” "I will play for any team with whole heart in the IPL," said Muralitharan, who used to play for Chennai Super Kings. Recalling Sri Lanka`s 1996 World Cup victory, Murali said the achievement had given the team a recognition that they were a good outfit. "We got importance as a cricket team that year." Asked about which cricketer he admires the most, Muralitharan said when he was a boy he used to admire the West Indian legend Vivian Richards and when he became a spin bowler, he marvelled India`s Anil Kumble. Muralitharan, who had taken 800 Test wickets, denied reports that the Sri Lankan government had ordered a probe into the defeat of the national cricket team in last year`s World Cup final, which India won. "There is no probe. Nothing like that, it`s all rumour," he said. Muralitharan, who was here to inaugurate the Michael Phelps Swimming Pool at Velammal School, said providing sportsmen with the facilities was a "great thing" as it would give them opportunity to improve and fine tune skills. PTI