You need to move on after losing close matches: Murali

Muttiah Muralitharan never expected to be part of the Royal Challengers Bangalore playing 11 at the beginning of their campaign itself, what with skipper Daniel Vettori already occupying a spinner’s slot besides one of the four spots for foreign players. But the wily off-spinner, having got an opportunity to play the first match, has secured his place in the final 11.

“I did not expect to play (early on),” the Sri Lankan legend admitted before the start of RCB’s practice here on Saturday. “But the opportunity arose and now I am hoping for the best and look to keep performing as there is no guarantee (of retaining your place) and players are picked depending on the demands of the team,” he remarked.

The 39-year-old has been the most successful bowler for the Challengers by some distance with eight wickets from three matches at an eminently acceptable rate of 6.41.
Murali also tried to play down Thursday’s shock defeat at the hands of Chennai Super Kings. “In T20, you win some and lose some,” he pointed out. “No team can win all 16 matches. So a couple of losses are not going to bother us. We need to perform. Close matches do happen and it is not a difficult thing to digest, you just need to keep moving on”.

Murali almost alluded to the fact that RCB were missing a quality fifth bowler and Chris Gayle’s groin strain prevented them from using the Jamaican as a bowler. “We have to look at the right combination from available players. The last game (against Chennai) was difficult. Injuries hampered us. But once Gayle begins to bowl, we should be fine as he is capable of bowling some good overs,” he observed.

Murali also felt the disparity in players’ bidding amount, wherein a good player goes for lesser money than an average one, doesn’t affect the performance. “Money does not matter. The value of a player cannot be weighed by the price he is acquired for. Yes money is an incentive for players to perform but then owners would have worked out their strategy and buy players depending on their team’s requirements.”