Murali upset by the ICC's snub

Muttiah Muralitharan has cited the ongoing controversy over his bowling action as the reason for his snubbing at the inaugural ICC awards on Tuesday night. Sri Lanka's cricket officials, meanwhile, say they are "surprised and disappointed" by the panel's decision.

The main bone of contention is not that Murali missed out on one of the major three awards, but that he missed out on a place in the World Test XI despite being short-listed for the Test Player of the Year award, after another prolific wicket-taking year.

Murali played eight Test matches during the August 2003 to July 2004 period considered by the ICC's judges, and snared 68 wickets at 17.47 - 28 of those were against Australia, the world's best team, in the space of three matches.

But the five-man panel, chaired by Richie Benaud, selected Shane Warne as the Test spinner after his comeback from a drugs ban. Warne took 36 wickets in five matches - all of which were played against Sri Lanka.

"A few people are not that keen on me because they think I am not bowling properly," Murali told BBC Online in an exclusive interview. "That's the only reason it can be, but it's disappointing for me. It happens sometimes that people are not favourable towards me but they do not have to judge that - they have to judge how I have performed during the course of the year.

"I am surprised that someone who didn't play for six months did get into the side. If you take [Warne's] total career he should be there but if it's about one year's performance he should not, because he did not play for six months of that time. I don't need more awards - I already have the world record but I was disappointed on the night.

"The funny part of it is that they nominate me among the best four for the best player of the year but they cannot put me in the team - that's why I think something funny is going on."

Mohan de Silva, Sri Lanka Cricket's president, was equally puzzled. "We are definitely surprised and all obviously disappointed as Murali was the leading wicket-taker in Test cricket during this period," he said "but it is the people who vote that matter in the end. Murali should definitely have been in the World Test XI after his wicket haul during the year. I am very surprised."

de Silva, like many Sri Lankans, hopes that the ICC's current review into the biomechanics of spin bowling, which is due to be released in November, will help prove that Murali's action should finally be given the all-clear. "Murali is a tough competitor and I have no doubt that, when he comes back from injury, he will keep taking wickets and will one day get the recognition he deserves."