Muthiah Muralidaran

Perhaps no cricketer since Douglas Jardine polarised opinion quite like Murali, the most prolific wicket-taker in Test history, a shoo-in for one of the spin spots in any all-time XI, and undeniably the greatest player Sri Lanka ever produced. But though for believers he'll always be among the finest to ever have bowled, to doubters Murali's records will always be viewed through the prism of a long-running debate over his action.

What was undeniable was his ability to turn the ball sharply on just about any surface, to bowl marathon spells on pitches friendly and not, and to serve as a go-to man for half a dozen captains. He finished with numbers to match, becoming his team's match-winner across conditions and formats, finishing with world-record hauls of 800 Test wickets and 534 ODI wickets.

Murali first caught attention on a tour match against Australia on the 1992-93 tour, when Allan Border struggled to read him. His unusual action, shaped in part by a congenital deformity in his bowling arm and enhanced by exceptional wrist flexibility quickly became an object of fascination and ridicule. Yet it also helped generate extreme turn, and as he refined his craft and added the doosra, he emerged as Shane Warne's great contemporary in the wicket-taking and spin-bowling supremacy stakes.

Though controversies always tailed him, Murali seldom lost his wide-eyed smile, or the ability to run through batting sides. Darrell Hair called him for throwing on Boxing Day in 1995, and Ross Emerson followed suit three years later. A few years on, he was asked to refrain from bowling his doosra, after it was found to exceed the 15-degree tolerance limit that had been agreed on after extensive analysis of his and other actions. While the sceptics continued to denigrate his achievements, Murali even bowled on television wearing a special arm brace, going through his entire repertoire to try and convince the doubters.

His achievements were quite simply, staggering. Part of Sri Lanka's World Cup-winning side in 1996, he was also instrumental in their run to the final 11 years later, and to the final of the 2009 T20 World Cup. In Tests, he claimed 67 five-wicket hauls, miles better than anyone else, and 22 times took ten in Tests, averaging just under 23. His 16 wickets against England at The Oval in 1998 remain one of the great match performances. And he took more than 100 Test wickets each against India, England and South Africa. He signed off in fairy-tale fashion in 2010, taking his 800th Test wicket with his final ball.

Backed throughout by Arjuna Ranatunga and revered across Sri Lanka, Muralidaran's influence extended beyond cricket. His humanitarian work after the 2004 tsunami won widespread admiration, and as the only Tamil in the national side often during the years of ethnic conflict, he became a powerful symbol of unity.

After his playing days, Murali played in the IPL and then coached in that tournament.