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Legendary West Indies batter Brian Lara has finally shared his verdict on one of cricket’s most debated comparisons — Shane Warne versus Muttiah Muralitharan. Having faced both spin giants at their peak, Lara offered a rare and valuable perspective.

Muralitharan, the former Sri Lanka off-spinner, holds the record for the most international wickets. Between 1992 and 2011, he claimed a staggering 1347 wickets across all formats. He also remains the top wicket-taker in both Test cricket (800) and ODIs (534), achievements that underline his dominance in the game.

Right behind him in the overall list is the late Shane Warne, whose 1001 international wickets include 708 in Tests — second only to Muralitharan. Warne tragically passed away in 2022 after suffering a heart attack during a vacation in Thailand.

Lara chooses Warne over Muralitharan

During an appearance on The Overlap Cricket Show on YouTube, Lara praised Muralitharan for his unique challenge as a bowler. The former Caribbean captain admitted how tough it was to pick Murali, even during innings where he scored heavily.

“He is the best, and you know, I walk out to bat against Murali, and I’m confused. I got that 688 runs in three matches and the first half an hour of Murali, I would be confused. I’d play a sweep shot down to deep backward square for a single. You know, I’d play a sweep shot again,” he said.

“And then all of a sudden, you know, because it’s the guys, the other guys didn’t read him. He’s like, oh, take out the bit. No, no, no. But for Lara, nothing, nothing. Let’s move everybody up. And all of a sudden, the pressure came off. But Murali gave me more pressure than Shane,” he added.

Lara ranks Shane Warne higher

However, despite his struggles against Muralitharan, Lara ranked Shane Warne higher — not for skill alone, but for the psychological edge he brought to the field.

“But when I’d walk out to bat against Shane. The ball would be coming off the middle, every ball, and about 2-3 PM, he just produces this magical delivery or spell. That’s why I rate him higher, because I think he was mentally stronger,” Lara said.

“And obviously with his bowling attack and the pitches that he bowled on, which favoured, you know, the McGraths and McDermotts, for him to pick up that amount of wickets, very, very special,” he added.