COLOMBO – Sri Lanka coach Trevor Bayliss believes spin king Muttiah Muralitharan will be fit to face England in Saturday’s World Cup quarter-finals. The 38-year- old off-spinner — who has a world record 530 one-day wickets — pulled his hamstring in the Group A match against New Zealand and had shortened nets on Wednesday. But Bayliss said Muralitharan will play on Saturday. “Murali did bowl for some 20 minutes today.
We are very confident that he will play and I think he’s pretty confident too he will play because he is a guy who’s played through niggles in the past,” said Bayliss. Bayliss, who is due to step down after this World Cup following four years in charge, said Muralitharan is a vital cog in Sri Lankan plans.
