Sri Lankan bowling legend Muttiah Muralitharan reportedly underwent an angioplasty on Sunday in Chennai after suffering from cardiac-related issues. A report by the ESPNcricinfo website said that Muralitharan had a stent fitted to open a blocked artery that was discovered recently during a routine check-up.
According to some media reports, Muralitharan was admitted to Chennai’s Apollo Hospital. The Sri Lankan legend, who has taken a record 800 wickets Test matches and 534 wickets in the 50-over format of the game, is the bowling coach of Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL. He is likely to join his team after being discharged from the hospital.
Muralitharan represented three IPL teams namely Chennai Super Kings, Kochi Tuskers and Royal Challengers Bangalore in 66 matches before joining Sunrisers Hyderabad as their bowling coach in 2015.
Meanwhile, former cricketers and fans have been wishing Muralitharan speedy recovery. Former India cricketer Dodda Ganesh tweeted, “Wishing Muttiah Muralitharan a speedy recovery. Hope it isn’t serious #IPL2021.”One fan wrote, “This year is also too bad for us bro.. Just now saw that Muthaiah Muralidharan got admitted in Apollo for Angio.”
Muralitharan recently celebrated his 49th birthday.