Chennai, Jul 24 (IANS): Tamil star Vijay Sethupathi will essay Sri Lankan spin legend Muttiah Muralitharan in a biopic written and directed by MS Sripathy.

"I am happy to be associated with the Muttiah Muralitharan biopic. He is an iconic sportsman of Tamil origin and someone who has made his mark across the world," Vijay said.

"Portraying Murali is a challenge I'm looking forward to. I'm delighted that Murali himself will be closely involved with the project and guiding me on the cricketing aspects. I am thankful to Murali and the producers for the faith bestowed on me," added the actor.

Opening up on the project, Muralitharan said: "We are looking at a late 2020 release. I am honoured that an accomplished actor such as Vijay Sethupathi will be playing me in the film. I have been actively collaborating with the creative team for the past several months and I will continue to support this project."

The film will be made in Tamil and released in several languages across the world.