World’s highest wicket taker Muttiah Muralitharan, who is on his last away Test series, justified his decision to retire from Test cricket next year owing to a combination of factors. Muralitharan, who has said that he would retire from Tests next November, hasn’t helped Sri Lanka’s cause of winning their first Test win in India having taken just five wickets in the two Tests played here so far in the ongoing series.

"I think my decision to retire is the right one. I can’t bowl as much as I did those days. I tend to get tired after bowling about 15-16 overs. I will try a bit of One-Day cricket. If it doesn’t work, I will retire from both forms of the games before the World Cup. It all depends on how the body goes. In Tests it’s hard because I have been a threat to other sides and at the moment it’s not looking like that as other teams are playing well against me," the off-spinner told journalists after Sri Lanka were beaten heavily in the second Test here in Kanpur to give India a 1-0 advantage in the three match series.

The big loss, however, didn’t worry Muralitharan, who believed Sri Lanka will be back in business in the next Test in Bombay that gets underway on the 2nd of December.

"Some matches you win and some matches you won’t and what matters is that we have to work hard," he said philosophically.

"We played the last game very well and this one didn’t go our way. We lost the toss and it was a blow. Batting on the first day on that wicket was easy, but from thereon, the ball was keeping up and down and it wasn’t easy. It was a struggle for the batsmen. From the second day onwards wickets started falling. If you see even they lost eight wickets on day two. I think there’s an opportunity for us in Bombay and we’ve got to take that."

India is one place Sri Lanka haven’t won a Test Match apart from in

Australia and South Africa. While there’s been not many opportunities in Australia and South Africa, the Sri Lankans have played regularly in India. Muralitharan was asked whether it would be a disappointment if he’s not able to win a Test Match in India. "That will be a disappointment, but then what to do? Life goes on. You can’t accomplish everything in your life. What I have done I guess is amazing over the years. If we can’t win here, then so be it."Muralitharan, who requires 12 more wickets to become the first man in the world to take 800 wickets, said he wouldn’t be overly bothered if he didn’t cross the 800 wicket mark in Tests. "I am not focusing on numbers. 800 is just a number. Everyone will forget you once you retire. I don’t believe in numbers. It’ll be good if I can take that, but at the end I will be happy I had a great career."

Ever since making his Test debut in the year 1992, Muralitharan has

remained a mainstay in the Sri Lankan side and has played leading roles in Test wins for Sri Lanka both at home and away. He felt that

country’s bowling resources were in a position to help the team win once he retires, but doubted whether any single bowler will be able to dominate as much as he did time and again over years.