Mahela Jayawardane as quoted to the Guardian:
"He is the sort of guy you want in the dressing room, but sometimes you think: 'Why is he in the dressing room - he won't stop talking!' When he exhausts us, he goes to see the opposition. He is the only player I have ever known who spends more time in the opponents' dressing room than his own. You never sit next to him on an aeroplane because you won't get any sleep. Lal, the masseur, has that job. But ask him to make a speech and you will be lucky to get 10 words."
Sanath Jayasuriya quotes “He was the first guy to take any newcomer to dinner and making sure that he has smooth transition into the team. Till date, Since he was 19, He made sure that every single debutant was helped to understand what it takes to compete at the highest level for SRILANKAN cricket”
Murali answering Tony Greig after his final test “Yes, In Australia, I had asked Arjuna Ranatunga to take me off from bowling after having taken 3 wickets. I was very young then and din’t know how to give interview speeches. I had asked Arjuna to take me off from my spell so that I could prepare my interview speech, just in case, I was adjudged Man of the match” Mahela on one of the funny incidents in the Srilankan Dressing room:
I remember Murali hitting Darren Gough for a six one year at Lord’s. It was a low full toss that he tried to hit to midwicket and it went sailing over extra cover. He marched into the dressing room afterwards with a big smile, telling us all what a fine shot it was. Then we pointed out the video replay and the red mark on the edge of his bat. He was livid.
Madhi Malar Ramamurthy quotes:
“Every time Murali picks up a wicket, my heart starts beating faster. Tears of joy just flow down my cheeks when I realise how special he is to the people of Sri Lanka, how much they love him and how much he means to them. I have never seen anybody in any sphere of life get this kind of a farewell. I am proud to be Murali’s wife"
Murali to Andrew Flintoff while playing for Lancashire:
While others are afraid to voice their opinions after a team-mate loses his wicket, Murali can't resist. A towering Andrew Flintoff stormed into the dressing room, ashen-faced, having failed to end a lean trot. Murali sauntered over casually. "What happened - another shit shot?"
Charlie Austin, former Sri Lanka editor on Murali's Down to earth personality:
I travelled with him to the tsunami-hit town of Batticaloa on Sri Lanka's east coast. Murali had single-handedly organised about 10 lorries of emergency supplies for distribution in the relief camps. In the evening we stopped at the Polonnaruwa Rest House to catch some sleep. They only had three bedrooms available for about 10 of us. Murali not only insisted on paying, he steadfastly refused to take a bed, spread a sheet on the floor, grabbed a pillow and slept happily.
