Spin wizard Muttiah Muralidaran says he has forgiven umpire Darrell Hair for branding him a chucker, but not quite former Prime Minister John Howard. The Daily Telegraph in Sydney reports that Muralidaran believes Hair made a huge mistake when he called him for chucking during the 1995 Boxing Day Test at the MCG.
However, Murali was at pains to point out he no longer had any ill-feeling towards Hair. "I have forgiven (him) and forgotten," Murali said.
"I had been very upset with him, but I have let it go. I am not upset with him. People do make mistakes and I think he made a mistake. My action has been cleared. But I'm not going to look at the past any more."
Muralidaran, who is making his farewell tour of Australia for three one-day matches, has taken 800 Test wickets, but his extraordinary career has always been shrouded by controversy, from the chucking dramas to the ugly crowd abuse he copped on previous tours of Australia.
Murali also said he was more offended by ex-PM John Howard calling him a chucker than he was by the taunts of Aussie crowds. "It has been a bit difficult here for me sometimes but mainly it has just been one or two people in the crowd saying some things," he said.
"That is part of the game and as a sportsman you just have to accept that some people just don't like you. What I really didn't like was the comments Howard made (in 2004). That was why I didn't come on the next tour here. From someone in his position, that was worse than anything the crowd said."