Sri Lanka’s legendary off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan has warned Australia of pulling out of a tour to his country after a poll conducted by The Age cited almost 3000 respondents as opposing the visit.
“Sport and politics are different. If Australia is not going to play any more in Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Zimbabwe … If they only play in some countries, world cricket will die and IPL ( Indian Premier League) will take over,” The Age quoted Muralitharan, as saying.
Murali’s warning comes in the wake of a poll involving 3527 people in which 2856 (81 percent) said that the tour should not be undertaken after a documentary, alleging Sri Lankan war crimes, was screened in Australia .
While there is no official word from Cricket Australia (CA) or the Australian government, it has been reported that some members of the team have expressed reservations about the visit.
Muralitharan said that while players were entitled to make individual decisions, withdrawing from the tour would have dire consequences for world cricket.
