England must prove themselves in India, Sri Lanka to claim No.1 spot: Muralitharan

Friday, 27 May 2011 00:26 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

London, May 26(ANI): Former Sri Lankan off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan has said that England needs to prove themselves in India and Sri Lanka to earn the right to be called the best Test-playing nation on the planet.

Muralitharan's comment comes ahead of the England-Sri Lanka Test series, which starts in Cardiff today.

"I think they are good in England, but on the sub-continent they are not that good. They had a brilliant win in the Ashes, but other than that they haven't done many great things in the sub-continent," Muralitharan told BBC Radio 5 Live.

"They have to improve on the sub-continent, beating sides from the sub-continent in the sub-continent. They have to beat Sri Lanka and India in their conditions," he added.

Muralitharan further acknowledged that off-spinner Graeme Swann is world class, but feels that captain Andrew Strauss needs another one to conquer the Indian subcontinent.

"In the sub-continent you need two good spinners. At the moment they have a lovely spinner in Graeme Swann, but they need one more spinner to be fighting in the sub-continent because it's difficult with one," Muralitharan said.

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