Muralitharan's remarks came following SRH’s win over MI while chasing the target of 244.
Muralitharan made these remarks following SRH’s win over Mumbai Indians (MI) on Wednesday (April 29) at Wankhede Stadium, where a target of 244 was successfully chased.
The daunting chase was driven by a 129-run opening stand between Travis Head (76 off 30) and Abhishek Sharma (45 off 24), followed by Heinrich Klaasen's unbeaten 65 off 30 balls and Salil Arora’s cameo (30* off 10).
"We would have turned [the ball], but we would not have made a big dent. We could have got like one or two wickets, maybe they would have scored 40 runs easily, because wickets are so good and you need about three-four bowlers like that to contain to less than 200,” Muralitharan said in the post-match press conference.
"It's very difficult for a bowler because these days every team, not only us, has an opening pair that doesn't care about in or out, they just go after the bowling. When we used to play, about 40 to 50 runs was a good score with one wicket in six overs, now the average is 70 to 80," he added.
SRH overhauled the formidable target against MI with six wickets and eight balls to spare. Even ace pacer Jasprit Bumrah was taken to the cleaners, conceding 54 runs without a wicket.
"Even a good bowler goes for a six, Bumrah goes for one or two balls. Abhishek, the way he hits, it's unbelievable, but when a new boy Salil Arora hits a six, it's unbelievable - you don't think [someone with] the calibre of Bumrah comes and a young boy will hit a six because he will think about how am I going to survive," Muralitharan said.
"But nowadays, no, how am I going to hit a six - that's their approach. Confidence levels have gone up because people have showed that this is the way to play the modern game, and youngsters are following that.
"So, for bowlers, there is not much to say; they have to practise a lot and be as accurate as possible. On your day, you might do well, even if you do well, sometimes you are at the receiving end because of the wicket and the conditions," he remarked.
Muralitharan stated that balancing bat and ball is now impossible because T20 cricket prioritizes entertainment, sponsors, and massive viewership over fair competition, turning the game into a "big business" focused on high-scoring fours and sixes.
“I think if we give fair wickets, the spectators will say it's become boring because the T20 followers want entertainment, so they want to see the fours and sixes. That's why the tournament is built like that - an extra player to come and bat. It is a big business at the moment, sponsors and everything, so you will lose the sponsors and interest of the people,” the former Sri Lanka spinner said.