Murali confident of Sunrisers’ success

Former Sri Lanka spinner Muttiah Muralitharan is looking forward to his stint as bowling consultant for the Sunrisers Hyderabad, and is confident the side can do better than last year in the IPL.

Muralitharan has a long history with the IPL, having played for Royal Challengers Bangalore and Chennai Super Kings, and has plenty of T20 experience since his Test retirement, having played for Melbourne Renegades as well.

Sunrisers were very impressive in their maiden season, but their second stint, last year, was below par, and Murali hopes the likes of Dale Steyn, Trent Boult and David Warner will prove successful this year.

Muralitharan said: "We have very good fast bowlers, spinners and a solid batting line-up. SRH should be one of the strongest contenders this time around.

"My role is more of a consultant giving the necessary inputs as the ultimate goal of each member of the team is to come up with better performances."

Murali is a big fan of the IPL, purely for its educational aspects, saying young players benefit greatly from the experience and from having international stars around them.

He continued: "It gives a huge opportunity to play with and against the best players. This itself is a big learning curve.

"Secondly, if any player performs consistently, it will only help him get the name and fame.

"No doubt Test cricket remains the ultimate format for any player. But, performances in the IPL help players gain confidence and dream of playing for their country."