Sri Lanka's champion off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan launched a veiled attack on UNP presidential aspirant Sajith Premadasa saying the country needs 'leaders' and not those who blindly sacrifice their lives.

One of Premadasa's often repeated remark is that he is willing to 'sacirifice' his own life in the name of the public.

"If a leader dies, who is going to lead the country?" Muralitharan asked, speaking at a Viyathmaga conference at the Shangri-la Hotel in Colombo yesterday. The event was organized in support of SLPP Presidential candidate Gotabhaya Rajapaksa's election campaign.

"Can I say I will sacrifice my life and take wickets? If I die in the process, who is going to do the job?" he also asked. However, Muralitharan stopped short of mentioning the name of the UNP Deputy Leader.

The former Sri Lankan cricketer, an ethnic Tamil, said the happiest day of his life was May 18, 2009, when Sri Lanka ended this region's longest-running civil war by militarily eliminating the LTTE.