Sri Lankan spin wizard Muttiah Muralitharan has been signed by Australian club Victorian Bushrangers to play in the KFC Twenty20 Big Bash competition for the 2009-10 season.
Bushrangers now have its full quota of international players, as permitted under new Cricket Australia guidelines, following their earlier signing of West Indies all-rounder Dwayne Bravo.
"What a thrill it will be to play in front of a 'home' crowd at the mighty MCG, representing Victoria in a strong competition," said Muralitharan.
"It's an exciting prospect and a great honour, and I look forward to playing my part in the Bushrangers' team and hopefully entertaining Victorian and Australian fans," said the spin legend, who holds records for the most wickets in both Tests and ODIs.
"Shane Warne and I share the honour of having a trophy that bears our names, and I'm delighted to be following in his footsteps as a Victorian spinner," Murali added.
Cricket Victoria Chief Executive Tony Dodemaide said Murali is without peer in terms of current spinners in world cricket and a true legend of the game.
"He has impressive record in Twenty20's and is capable of match-turning spells, conceding less than six runs an over on average -- a remarkable performance in this frenetic new format," Dodemaide said.
"It's also appropriate that cricket fans will have the chance to see Murali play at the MCG, the venue at which Shane Warne enjoyed so much success and delighted so many," he added.
Meanwhile, on the run-up to the inaugural Champions League in India later this year, international real estate developer Dheeraj and East Coast (DEC) has signed a three-year contract with the Australian domestic side as its partner.
"The DEC Victorian Bushrangers will have the new sponsors' name on their shirts in time for the upcoming Champions League Twenty20 tournament in India," according to a statement from the company.
During the Champions League Twenty20 Victoria will be branded under the Dheeraj banner, but will revert to the DEC Victorian Bushrangers for all the domestic competitions, the statement added.
NRI developer Dheeraj Wadhawan said that his company, DEC, can see tremendous benefits in being associated with Australia's leading cricket teams.
"The Victorian Bushrangers is a team that holds lots of promise and rank very high on the international circuit," he said.
"DEC is a renowned and rapidly growing company with whom we're thrilled to be in partnership. They're looking to expand throughout Australia, especially in Victoria, while we're looking to capitalise on our presence in India for upcoming Champions League Twenty20," Dodemaide said.
