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The world thrives on controversies. And a larger percentage of it comes when someone is doing well and hitting the headlines. If you are a superstar the critics wait for an opportunity to sling mud at you rather than accept what you are.

The case with our champion spinner Muttiah Muralitharan is since he became the seventh bowler in Test cricket history to pass 400 Test wickets and at the same time the youngest (at the age of 29) and the quickest (in 72 Tests), a few feathers have been ruffled to bring his bowling action which had been laid to rest long ago, to the forefront once again.

The latest attack on Murali's action came from India's let-arm spinner Bishan Singh Bedi, who went on record to say that Murali 'would have made a good javelin thrower at the Asian Games' in 'Wisden Cricket Asia'.

The controversial Indian bowler has also gone on to castigate other leading off-spinners like his own countryman Harbhajan Singh and Pakistan's Saqlain Mushtaq both of whom he accuses of using the elbow to turn the ball the other way. There is no doubt that Muralitharan is destined to become the greatest wicket-taker in Test history if he can continue to produce the form that brought him 80 wickets from 12 Tests in the 2001 calendar year.

Bedi is an exception. Whatever mode he has been involved in with Indian cricket whether it be as a player, captain, administrator etc has always ended in some form of controversy. It seems that he revels in disputes which more than often finds an obliging editor prepared to run such stories to attract readership.

Bandula de Silva, a former secretary of the Board of Control for Cricket in Sri Lanka sent us this interesting piece on Bedi. He tells us that it was Bedi who began ball tampering when the ball was rubbed on the ground or rolled along the ground in order to take the shine off to allow the spinners to come into the attack.

That was a time when television replays were not so much in vogue as it is today, and when players got away with anything, even bowling with a bent arm.

Considering the fact that Muralitharan's splendid achievement has been given its due recognition by other former Test stars like Sunil Gavaskar, Navjot Singh Sidhu and Bruce Yardley, Bedi's accusation seems unjustifiable, and it can only mean that he is jealous of Murali's achievements.

Gavaskar, the legendary Indian Test opener and captain rated Murali as "the greatest of spinners". "The big wide eyes, the smile, the mind ticking as the fingers send the doom ball to the batsmen make Muralitharan the greatest spinner of all time. His superlative fielding is a bonus. It's easy to turn the ball from leg to off for wrist spinners, but to get the ball to turn from of to leg for finger spinners is one of the hardest things in the world. Murali does it regularly on the flattest of pitches where once off-spinners could not turn the ball an inch and then blamed the make of the ball", wrote Gavaskar.

Sidhu said: "Any other individual would have been shattered by the kind of vicious attack some peopled had launched against Murali, but he gathered strength from his mates and well-wishers to make a place for himself.

"I rate Murali very high. He has served Sri Lanka cricket with distinction and brought pride to the fraternity of spinners. He sits at the top in the company of Shane Warne and Anil Kumble and I know that his best is yet to come. Bowlers like Murali are a rare breed for another reason. He is one competitor who readily shares his secrets with anyone who approaches him and that is quite a quality in my opinion".

The Indian magazine 'Sportstar' ran an editorial when he reached his 400th Test wicket stating thus: "What separates Muralitharan from the rest is the element of suspense behind each delivery. In a nutshell, he is artful, artistic and appeals to the aesthetics, something that is fast disappearing from cricket. More than anything, Muralitharan, gifted as he is, symbolises the triumph of spirit, perseverance and fortitude, qualities that make men immortal in their chosen sphere".

The unkindest cut

Talking about unfairness to Muralitharan, the manager of the Sri Lanka team, which Murali plays for, has suddenly been replaced. The decision to change Air Commodore Ajith Jayasekera from the managership after 14 months comes as quite a surprise.

The only reason given for such a change was that it was done in the best interest of Sri Lanka cricket and the cricketers.

Jayasekera, who completed 30 years service with the Sri Lanka Air Force was a reputed cricketer and when he was first appointed manager for the tour to South Africa in December 2000, and subsequently asked to continue, it was thought that he was the ideal man for the job and that the Cricket Board's never ending task of looking for managers for every tour had ended.

Jayasekera fitted the role well. He blended his playing experience with his administrative capabilities with the Air Force very well that he fitted into the team as part of its family. His initial task was to get the team on the road again after the thrashing they received in South Africa. Along with the rest of the team management, Jayasekera was successful in reversing the losses to South Africa and to England at home, with Sri Lanka going onto record eight straight Test wins in their last eight matches.

Throw in a handful of one-day titles at Sharjah and at home and, one-day series victories over New Zealand and England and we have one of the most successful cricket teams in contemporary cricket.

So the question is, was a change in the manager obligatory at this stage? The only lapse that one could think of for the removal of Jayasekera from the managership is when the players had it their own way in team selections prior to the second Test against Zimbabwe at Kandy in January. Jayasekera was prepared to cop it and take the blame, but the Cricket Board refused to accept his resignation as manager as well as the withdrawal of his application for the permanent manager's post (which at the moment has been shelved). In other words, what it implied was that Jayasekera was not in the wrong in the manner in which he handled the situation.

Jayasekera's successor Chandra Schaffter is known to be a strict disciplinarian and we are made to understand that he has been brought in because 'the discipline factor was lacking on and off the field' and, to nip it in the bud so to say, before things got out of hand. Schaffter's had enough experience in this field and he is back after being unceremoniously sacked as manager on a baseless allegation brought against him just two days prior to the national team left for Zimbabwe two years ago.

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