Farewell, legend, you will be missed...

Some of my very first memories of cricket, which did not involve backyard games played with the kids, are of Murali. However, those are not the games he played for the national team. I was greatly lucky to have gotten the opportunity to study at St. Anthony's College, Kandy, which to date is one of the most memorable places in my life. And I was equally lucky, nay, honored that I was there at a time when a great cricketer of all times was in the making. Yes I was only 9 or 10 at the time, and knew only very little about cricket, but Murali was my hero - he was just about every Antonian's hero back then.

In early 90s school cricket was immensely popular the length and breadth of Sri Lanka. Perhaps because there wasn't much TV coverage of international matches, perhaps because rugby was still to be a major sport in Sri Lanka or merely because people had more time in their hands. Either way, school cricketers were very popular not just among school boys but within the general public as well. The likes of Murali, Kalpage, Marvan and Vaasy were well known even when they were playing for their schools. And Murali, perhaps, was the biggest star of them all - everybody knew he was something special - and he brought many a victory to our college which we could boast about so proudly back then. Heck we still do it, but it really is something to be proud of, isn't it? I remember back then, being the cricket enthusiast he was, our principal father would let the students out of the classes at 12 on Fridays if there was a match. And we stayed to watch till the end of the day's play, and even come back to watch on Saturdays - that was a time when tuition was only for the inept. The point is, as little kids we grew up watching Murali play for our college, and he was our hero, our Murali, long before he was everyone's "our Murali". Wonderful times, those were.

Many a year later he is now at the end of a long and illustrious career in every sense. The man has carried Sri Lanka team almost singlehandedly through two decades, and arguably the man who's responsible the most for making us a force to be reckoned with in international cricket. Yes there were others, but where would Sri Lanka be if it wasn't for Murali? No other player in the history of cricket has had an impact on his team as huge as Murali had on Sri Lanka. Here is a champion if there ever was one. However, wonderful as it may seem his career is, no other cricketer in the history of the game has had to go through so much shit as he did. Never has a sportsman been harassed as much as Murali has been, in the history of any sport, but he managed to smile through it all and emerge the winner at the end of the day. And when you see where he stands today, victorious, I can't help but admire the courage the man has. I don't even go into the whole ridiculous mess of chucking - time and again he has been cleared by the ICC, and he is not a thrower, and there the matter rests. If anyone can't accept it, too bad but it's their problem. Murali will always be remembered as one of the true legends of the game.

Murali isn't just about cricket either - he is much more than that. In a country which was torn apart by a long and depressing ethnic conflict, here is a minority Tamil who was loved alike by everyone. Honestly, I am yet to meet a Sri Lankan who didn't like the fellow. When he was winning us matches, it wasn't just the Tamils who cheered. When he was called for throwing, it was the whole nation that sided with him, not just Tamils. In short, he is a man who united a whole nation just by his presence. Nobody ever really thought of him in terms of race, he was, and is, everyone's hero. He truly is a man apart.

Today he is sending down those mesmerising deliveries for one last time. Today he is trying to win us a match for one last time. While batsmen the world over must surely be thinking that this is a cause for celebration, for us who loved the man so much it is hard to believe that we won't see those big off breaks anymore. Those eyes, as big as fists, who could have not loved those? And his childlike enthusiasm and the truly Sri Lankan smile, not to mention the awesomely wild batting. I am almost certain that his wild slogs brought joy to people as much as any good batsman did with his perfect stroke making. However, as much as I am sad that the legend is leaving, it is also the right time I think, for every good thing must come to an end. You should always go on your own terms with your head held high, and he decided to do so. For that I salute the man. We will never see another Murali again, and rightly so. There was, is and will be one and only one Murali.

He will be missed though his legacy will live forever. Thank you Murali for all the memories!