Pic by - Johann Jayasinha (SNNI)

Ace spinner Muttiah Muralitharan, who requires 26 more wickets to overtake Shane Warne as the leading wicket taker in Test cricket, told ‘Sunday Island' that he would go to Australia this time around and believed the record of the Australian could fall in either Brisbane or Hobart.

Muralitharan has never represented Sri Lanka in a Test Match in Australia since he was called for throwing on the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne by controversial umpire Darrel Hair 12 years ago. He boycotted Sri Lanka's last Test series in Australia in 2004 after Australian Prime Minister John Howard stunned the cricket world by calling him a ‘chucker'.

"I would go to Australia this time. Last time I was just disappointed with what their Prime Minister said. People can say various things, but when it comes from the Head of State, that's serious. It really hurt me," Muralitharan told ‘Sunday Island' on Saturday.

"I am looking forward to playing the Test Matches there and maybe it will happen there, but the main focus has to be on winning the Test series, something that we have not done in Australia."

Since boycotting the 2004 series, Murali has toured Australia to play ODI games, first during the tsunami fund raiser game in Melbourne and later during the Super Series, representing World XI and the VB Series.

"I have gone there couple of times since the 2004 series. Still people were shouting during matches and saying various things, but that's Australia. They will still shout, but you have to be mentally tough," the off-spinner added.

After taking nine wickets in the last Test against Bangladesh, Muralitharan has taken his overall tally of wickets to 683 in 111 Tests and is only behind Warne, who took 708 wickets in 145 Tests.

A rich haul of wickets in the next two Tests against the Bangladeshis will leave him just a handful of wickets short and the prospects of the record falling in Australia, a country that has haunted the bowler like no other, are high.

With everything set for the bowler to become the new record holder overtaking Australia's favourite son, the environment could easily turn out to be hostile down under and the experience of seeing an Asian becoming the highest wicket taker could be a bitter one for the partial Australian supporters.

Against Australia, Muralitharan has taken 55 wickets in 11 Test Matches at 31:41. While most of those 11 Test Matches were when Muralitharan was a youngster, the last time he played in a Test series against them in 2004 at home, the off-spinner did remarkably well claiming 28 wickets in three Tests at 23:17

Sri Lanka's senior players are also quietly looking forward for the series as they've got an excellent opportunity this time around to beat Australia in Australia. Since the retirement of Glen McGrath, Shane Warne, Justin Langer and Damian Martyn, the World Champions have never been involved in a Test series and Sri Lanka will be the first team to take them on.

The first Test is scheduled for 8th of November at the Gabba in Brisbane while Bellerive Oval will host the second Test on November 16th.