Muttiah Muralitharan is considering defying the International Cricket Council (ICC) by bowling his banned doosra in the second Test between Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka, which started in Bulawayo yesterday.
The ICC has ruled that the doosra, which turns away from right-handed batsmen, violates its regulations on illegal deliveries because Muralitharan's arm straightens by more than the permitted five degrees when he bowls it.
But the off-spinner was defiant on Thursday, and said he was taking legal advice on the issue.
"I just want a fair deal," Muralitharan was quoted as saying by the Brisbane Courier Mail newspaper.
"I want to bowl it tomorrow but I will have to talk to my law-yers. I feel I have been harassed unfairly.
"I will fight for my rights. I don't think it is right to bring in all those new rules about how many degrees a bowler's arm is allowed to bend and then test only one spinner.
"Why are they not testing other spinners around the world, why is it just me?
"I have read about a study in Australia where every single fast bowler tested is said to have an action where their arm straightens.
"Only by testing other spinners can they make a judgment on me.
"Yet I am the only one officially tested. How can you ban the doosra? I want to bowl it for the team and for the coach."
The ICC could ban Muralitharan for a year if he bowls the doosra and is reported by ICC match referee Mike Procter.
"I want to bowl it tomorrow, but I will have to see whether it will put my career at risk," Muralitharan said.
Muralitharan became test cricket's leading wicket-taker in the first test when he claimed eight wickets to break the record of 519 held by former West Indian fast bowler Courtney Walsh.
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