Brian Lara picks Shane Warne over Muralitharan for being ‘mentally stronger’

Shane Warne is the best leg-spinner, according to West Indies star Brian Lara, who ranked him above Muttiah Muralitharan. With the Sri Lankan spinner taking a record 800 wickets, the most of any bowler in Test matches, and Warne coming in just behind him with 708 dismissals from 145 games, both are considered to be among the greatest spin bowlers in cricket history.

With an incredible 1,347 dismissals, Muralitharan is the player with the most wickets in all formats. However, with 1,001 wickets, the former Australian cricket player comes in second on that record. While in Thailand on March 4, 2022, Warne unexpectedly died of a heart attack at the age of 52.

He is the greatest, and I’m perplexed when I go out to bat against Murali. I would be perplexed after seeing Murali’s first half-hour and the 688 runs I scored in three matches. For a single, I would play a sweep shot all the way down to deep backward square.

On The Overlap Cricket show on YouTube, Brian Lara stated, “You know, I’d play a sweep shot again.”

And then, you know, the other guys didn’t read him because it’s the boys. “Oh,” he says, “take out the bit.” No, no, no. However, nothing at all for Brian Lara. Let’s advance everyone. Suddenly, the pressure was released. However, Murali put more pressure on me than Shane did,” the West Indies icon continued.

“He’s the best!” ⭐

Brian Lara on facing the legendary bowling of Muralitharan and Warne 🏏 pic.twitter.com/3IzUdhUy7p

— Stick to Cricket (@StickToCricket) July 16, 2025

In contrast to Muralitharan, who spent the majority of his career in favourable Asian conditions, the great Caribbean hitter commended the late Australia veteran for attaining such impressive wicket totals while bowling on Australian surfaces that were often more conducive to pacers.

However, I would go out to bat against Shane. Every ball would come off the middle, and between two and three in the afternoon, he would simply perform this enchanted delivery or spell. I believe he was psychologically stronger, which is why I gave him a better rating. And it’s clear that his bowling assault and the pitches he bowled on, which favoured the McGraths and McDermotts, made it quite special for him to take that many wickets, Brian Lara remarked.