Captain Anil Kumble today retired from international cricket bringing the curtains down on India’s most successful bowler ever in both Tests and one-day international.
Regarded as one of the greatest spinners of the world, battle-hardened warrior Anil Kumble’s contribution to Indian cricket goes way beyond churning out match-winning spells with spectacular consistency for the past 18 years. The 38-year-old Kumble, the captain of the team and one of the legends in Indian cricket, on Sunday (November 2) brought down the curtains on a glorious career, which had its fair share of highs and lows.
The leg-spinner ended his 132-match Test career with 619 wickets, the highest by an Indian bowler. His one-day career tally stood at an equally impressive 337 wickets from 271 matches when he ended it last year. Kumble had been battling injuries, indifferent form and oft-repeated queries on retirement for quite some while.
The BS Chandrasekhar-idoliser kicked off his Test career in August 1990 against England, three months after his ODI debut against Sri Lanka, before going on to become perhaps the most consistent match-winning bowler that India produced in the longer version of the game.
Anil’s golden moments
Anli Kumble has given Indian cricket several golden moments. Kumble against Pakistan scaled the heights of cricketing greatness when we claimed 10 wickets in 1999 in Ferozeshah Kotla. This one achievement bracketed him alongside the greatest names in world cricket.
Kumble raised the bar higher by going past the 600 wicket barrier when he scalped Andrew Symonds in Australia in 2008. It was the momentous third Test, Kumble’s 124th test match overall, and jumbo scored big, led from the front and secured Indian a famous victory.
The hall-mark of Kumble’s career was his tremendous commitment to the game. It was in evidence especially in 1999 in West Indies, when he awed the sporting world by returning to the field with his broken jaw strapped in plaster to bowl for the country.
Tendulkar recalling this in Antigua when Kumble came into the match with his jaw in bandage and got Brian Lara out, said, “This is one match I can’t forget,” he said to emphasise that Kumble had a “big heart”. “He is one sportsperson who has a big heart”. “I have not come across a greater cricketer, who is good so dedicated to his work,” he added.
Kumble was no push over with the bat. He put a huge price on his wicket and proof of that came when on the 10th of August 2007, when his gutsy century of 110 not out against England saved India the blushes.
Stats that make Kumble a ‘Jumbo’
His 619 wickets in 132 Tests at an average of 29.65 and an economy rate of 2.69 speaks for the man, who was hailed by one and all as a gentleman cricketer.
Kumble made his Test debut against England at Manchester in 1990 and picked up three wickets giving 105 runs.
That same year, he made his ODI debut against Sri Lanka at Sharjah but managed just one wicket.
No one then had perhaps thought that the young man, who made the ball zip through the air rather than hang in it, would go on to become the country’s most successful bowler and the second in the game’s history to take 10 wickets in a match when he gobbled up all Pakistan wickets in an innings at the Ferozeshah Kotla ground.
The leg-spinner, who has 337 wickets in 271 ODIs at an average of 30.89 and economy rate of 4.30, was the hero of the Hero Cup final in Kolkata against the West Indies when he took six wickets for 12 runs to help India win the title in 1993.
Regarded as one of the best spinners in the world, Kumble took over the captaincy in November 2007 after Rahul Dravid relinquished the post. He led India to victory in the home series against Pakistan, the first home triumph against the traditional rivals in 27 years.
A gentleman cricketer, Kumble played a key role in keeping emotions in check and being the true ambassador during India’s ill-tempered tour of Australia.
A fighter to the core, Kumble was often criticised for not being a great turner of the ball early in his career but the Karnataka stalwart kept silencing his critics with heroic performances right through his career.
He has taken wickets against all Test-playing nations and his 269 wickets away as against 350 scalps at home dispels criticism that he was more successful in India than abroad.
The Bangalorean had been most successful against the Aussies, picking up 111 wickets with England being his next favourite tih 92 against it.
The leg-spinner announced his retirement from ODIs after the 2007 World Cup to prolong his Test career and the same year, scored the only century of his Test career, an unbeaten 110 against England at the Oval.
After 18 summers, the 38-year-old ‘Jumbo’ has finally decided to land leaving behind a void that is as irreplacable as the one left by Shane Warne in the Australian team.
Besides his Test exploits, Kumble had an impressive record in the shorter version of the game with 337 wickets in 271 matches, the highest number of scalps by an Indian bowler till date.
Kumble never was a big spinner of the ball like Shane Warne but the one aspect in which he managed to out-do the Australian legend was getting a Test hundred under his belt something Warne could never manage despite being a credible batter.
What he didn’t have in natural talent, Kumble more than made up for it with sheer determination and a workmanlike approach to hone his craft. Kumble held the team together through a race row, an umpiring furore and a heartbreaking Test series loss with his own conduct only enhancing his stature in international cricket.
But the champion bowler was in for harder times on return to his own country where focus on youth and Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s rising popularity was leading to questions being asked about the leg-spinner’s utility for the team in the face of his fitness woes and dip in form. Such was the pressure that the generally composed Kumble lost his cool on more than one occasion when pressed about his retirement plans.
Kumble maintained that he would take his own call on the matter but after Sourav Ganguly made the shock announcement of his retirement after the Australia series, it seemed a matter of time before Kumble’s decision came. It came and as the legend himself had promised, it came when nobody had quite expected it.
(With inputs from agencies)
news by APakistanNews.Com
