Anil Kumble : One who changed Indian cricket forever

In the early 1970’s, Indian team wasn’t recognized for it’s batting, it wasn’t yet considered a strong side on a whole but one aspect of their play that stood out was their spin bowling. After that era of Indian spinners ended, for about another decade the hunt to find a good spinner didn’t see any success. Plenty of good spinners came in the side but stayed for a little while and then made way for another new spinner. Amid all this, an engineer was hoping to make a career in a respective corporate organization, little he would have expected at that time, that one day he would be regarded as one of the best spinners to play this game. Yes, I’m talking about the great Anil Kumble.

A simple yet humble man in spectacles, very dedicated towards the game, knowing his role in the team, these are a few characteristics of Anil Kumble in his earlier days playing for the Indian team. India was not essentially considered a strong side when Kumble was brought into the side, since the retirement of Gavaskar, India was looking to rebuild and during this process, several young player were given a chance to showcase their talent at the international level.  As a keen follower of Kumble’s game, I’m persuaded to believe that his decision to leave a career in engineering wouldn’t have been an easy one. It’s fitting to say then, the decision that Kumble took at that time to opt for cricket over engineering, has had a significant on Indian cricket and we all admire him for his brave decision which certainly gave him the fruits.

Kumble certainly knew how much talent he possesses and how much of an asset he can be for the Indian team in the time he plays for his country. This is undoubtedly what happened. Kumble has never been regarded as a good spinner of the ball; having said that, his tendency to confuse the batsmen with his variations certainly left the batsmen clueless. During his career, one would rarely find an incident where Kumble didn’t respect the “fair play”. Kumble always conducted himself very well on the field and equally well off it. This makes him a player certainly to be respected, when someone gets fame and recognition it isn’t easy to get used to it but Kumble never let all this change him as a person.

Let’s talk about some of the key moments in Kumble’s career. The very first milestone that comes to mind is his 10 wicket-haul at the Kotla Stadium vs Pakistan. This was a spell of bowling where one didn’t only see Kumble confusing the batsmen with his variation but also with his sensational spin on the ball. Kumble proved on this day that he is a special talent and left everyone spell-bounded.  Another milestone of Kumble’s career will be his rare classy show with the bat, his first and only century that came against England in Engalnd, in the 2007 series. In this particular innings, those who watched the match would certainly know how crucial an innings Kumble played and just to add here, he was also the captain of the side. Not only did he make a century but made a century that helped India get out of a crisis situation in the match. A knock of the utmost excellence, one just cannot praise Kumble enough for his contribution to Indian cricket for more than a decade.

650+ wickets in test matches is not an easy task, Kumble is behind just two greats Warne and Muralitharan as far as leading wicket-takers stats is concerned in test matches. What always left me surprised about Kumble is his down to earth nature, which is to this very date, still the same. He’s still the cricket enthusiast that he was when he started playing. This very year, another milestone was added to his illustrated career i.e. Mumbai Indian’s IPL victory and this time Kumble was rewarded as a coach. Subsequently it makes an Indian fan think - perhaps a role we can see Kumble also playing for the Indian team in near future too. Kumble’s calmness and great knowledge of the game can certainly make out to be very handy for the Indian team.

This article hereby apprehends a simple point “Anil Kumble, a legend we admire”. We certainly appreciate your tremendous contribution to Indian cricket and without you; Indian cricket wouldn’t have been the same.