Cricinfo - Blogs - Men in White

Luckily Javagal Srinath who, along with Kumble, pretty much made up India's bowling attack for years, has written a lovely tribute in the Hindustan Times which gives Kumble his due. Here's a quote from it, but do read the whole thing:

"What made him a great bowler was there was no parallel (in the way he bowls) in Indian cricket, perhaps Chandra being the closest. The rest are more traditional bowlers. But his uniqueness was as much an insecurity (to him) as a strength. What worried him early on was that people would think him predictable, say that he would be read very well by the opposition. Whenever he was compared to Warne and found wanting, it really worked him up. It was only around the late 90s that he came to terms with it, realised that his uniqueness was his strength, figured what he could work on and what he could not."

At least Bangalore appreciates him. Which other player can claim to have a roundabout in the middle of a great metropolis named after him at age thirty! Anil Kumble Circle (formerly Oriental Circle) sits at the junction of St. Mark's Road and MG Road in the heart of Bangalore and bears mute witness to the glory of a native son.

Thanks for this post. I am appalled at the lack of coverage in the media (especially electronic media) on his retirement from one-day cricket. The game against Sri Lanka was a strange reflection on his cricket - his bad numbers against them ensured that Harbhajan was given the nod - what people have never understood is that in the case of Anil Kumble in one-day matches, it is not his record that matters, but the assurance that he'd give his all on the field. And irrespective of what statistics show, I strongly believe that had he been picked for that game against Sri Lanka, this announcement might have come a little later, and under better circumstances.

Mukul -

Anil Kumble has been critical to India's Test match fortunes in the last 15 years - no question about it. People who are blinded by showmanship and fashion statments (read the media esp. TV., advertisers, corporate sponsors and the lay public) have long undervalued him, and it is a tribute to his work ethic that he has remained true to his craft and committed to the team. One can only imagine what a giant like Kumble would have felt when he saw young pups like Sehwag, Yuvraj and Dhoni get all the attention and the endorsements.

Without taking anything away from his importance, I do think you err in painting all the 'fine crop of batsmen' with the same brush. Your point on home vs. away performances may well be right for all the others, but I think Dravid stands alone and quite some distance away from the pack in terms of importance in matchwinning efforts - whether home or away. When we won at Centurion recently, it was the first time during Dravid's career that India had won anything of note without a sizeable contribution from him. In that regard, it would be more appropriate to include Dravid alongside Gavaskar, Kapil and Kumble as the true giants of Indian cricket in the last 30 yrs.

Regds

Yes...definitely the greatest spinner India has ever produced.
The most humble cricketer the country has produced.Not one instance where he has vented his anger in public. Even Sachin managed to vent his anger a few times.

A thoroughly dedicated cricketer,who can forget him bowling with a broken jaw in the west indies ?

I hope he has a good test career ahead.He surely has a good career as a commentator after that !!

I don't know if you know the baseball phrase "tinkers to evers to chance?" Anyway, During India'a golden run of test matches at home during the early-mid 90's, I always thought of it as "Kumble, Raju, Chauhan". Prabhakar would do a creditable job opening, Kambli or Amre or some other worthy toiler would bludgeon a workmanlike double century, then we would all wait for Kumble to do his thing, while Raju and Chauhan kept things tight and provided a bit of support, and the opposing batsmen crumbled under the combined pressure of Kumble and the large total they were chasing.

We've perhaps had better teams since, but no Indian team has made winning seem so inevitable, so routine, so satisfying as those Kumble-led teams in India.

dude why do you have to rubbish bhajji like this. kumbles ODI form has been patchy after his shoulder injury just look at the stats. your statements about bhajji are unfair at so many levels. If india won anything in tests in the last 15 years or in one-days during the 90s one of the major reasons was Anil Kumble. But that does not mean that the other players are shit. Stop pitting players against each other like this. Kumble is a giant, but bhajji will has done and will do extremely well.

A wild Thought: Can we have Kumble as the coach for the ODI team (or at the very least - bowling coach). remember his off-field achievements include setting up a software and bionics company. hence i think he will suit the position of bowling coach very well

Deepak, when was the last time that Harbhajan actually won us a game in a ODI?

Kumble is a great person and a remarkable professional. His tenacity and courage in the indian cricket scene is incomparable. The biggest tribute that anyone can pay him is, his average no of wickets per test is as good as two of the other greats of his time, Murali and Warne. If it were not for the inclination shown for Harbhajan, Kumble could well rank alongside these two both in terms of wickets and glory.

The country has never been smart enough to respect civility which Kumble has in oodles, and instead is more focused on the antics and gimmicks designed to draw attention. So it is not surprising that Kumble is not glorified to the extent he deserves. However, his focus, dedication, hard-work, never say die attitude is something everyone should and can learn from.

I am surprised to find very few comments here. Goes on to show that show ponies matter more than true value race horses. I, for one, salute one of the greatest cricketers ever produced by India.

As usual Mukul gets it wrong. Kumble since October 5, 2001 has played 63 ODIs taking only a wicket a game, at an average of 41.03.

Not at all flattering!!! To blame this performance on a rahul dravid or sourav or harbhajan getting better treatment than Kumble is foolish.

Mukul, I wonder what makes you the expert the arm chair critic on these things. You seem to be getting most things wrong.

Maybe going back to the classroom to teach social history or whatever crap you indulge in might be a better option

great piece. harbhajan singh never was and never will be anything even close to as good a bowler as kumble. i never quite got what enamoured him the selectors. though, the selectors disrespecting a player's talent and freezing him out of the team has stopped surprising me. kumble and laxman are just a few that the bcci owes an apology to for giving their places to far more inept and mostly useless players. go look at bhajji's hattrick against aus, those are the three most unconvincing wickets, i have seen. it's really quite disgusting how poorly india treated kumble, and others not from the only state considered "cool".

Yes, it has definitely been most baffling how Ganguly and Dravid had been reluctant to play India's best bowling option in ODIs. Pretty much every match where he was dropped in favor of Harbhajan, you'd be thinking how you wish if Kumble was bowling at some particular juncture.

Anyway I do hope he plays on for another 2-3 years in Tests. He's definitely one of the 4 greatest players India has produced, and my personal order of greatness would be (1) Kapil (2) Gavaskar (3) Kumble and (4) Tendulkar

"We've perhaps had better teams since, but no Indian team has made winning seem so inevitable, so routine, so satisfying as those Kumble-led teams in India. "

This, and the article by the erudite author totally discounts even the possibility that "perhaps teams have figured out much better how to play spin in India". England in '92 was quite pathetic against the "Kumble led India". However, the last time NZ came to India (was it 2002?), they were expected to be trampled - instead they gave a real good fight on typical INdian wickets. Things had probably changed in 10 years.

While Kumble is deserving of praise, to just "over-praise" him because he is retiring is, well, typical. He is a very determined, very thinking player - and the advantage of his retirement is that he will (hooefully) play test cricket that bit longer. On this I completely agree. And he might well be still playing only because the team think tank "did not appreciate" his one-day credentials.

Think of the other guy in the Indian team that has been playing for 15 years and you will understand the importance of not being jaded by constant cricket.

Guys,
Kumble has been our best spinner for a long time now.
Having said that let us remember Kumble for what he stood i.e. commitment, dedication and hard work. He is perfect example for any budding cricketer.
Lets not pity him and belittle his achievements. Thank you Mr Kumble for your services to Indian cricket and its countless fans.

Mukul,

I don't know from where you pulled out this outrageously incorrect statement that since 1971 Indian cricket has been sustained by Sunil Gavaskar, Kapil Dev, and Anil Kumble. This is utter non-sense. In the 1970s, Indian batting was anchored by Gundappa Vishwanath and the bowling by the spin trio Bedi, Chandra and Prasanna (I am sorry Venkatraghavan fans, but even though I am a Madrasi, I honestly don't think that he was in the same class as Prasanna). In the 1980s, it was Kapil Dev and Mohinder Amarnath that won matches for India. I haven't closely followed Indian cricket in the 1990s: the Azharudin-Tendulkar decade, but I don't think that we have had any "genuine" anchors of either bowling or batting during this time.

I, especially, vehemently disagree with your portrayal of Sunil Gavaskar as the anchor of the team in the 1980s. How many test matches as he won for India? To generalize this question a bit more, how many tests has any of the Bomabyites won for India? Karanataka (Vishy, Pras, Chandra, Kumble, Dravid) and Delhi (Bedi, Kapil, Mohinder, and a few others) have produced more genuine match-winners and more importantly, team-players who will play key supporting roles when the team needs them (e.g. Kirmani, Chauhan, Madan Lal, Binny, etc).

What about the Kumble the batsmen. The 1996/97 Titan cup match between India and Australia. India were 8 down and still needed 50+ more runs to win. In those days when batsman at 9th and 10th position never hit a single run. The two Bengaloroo boys (Srinath and Kumble) steered India towards victory. Also he was crickets Mr. Humble.

Statistically (nearly for all of the last five years or so), Bhajji has been proven to be a better bowler than Kumble in ODIs. I am not surprised that Sourav or Rahul used Bhajji over Anil. I dont remember the link (infact it was in Cricinfo itself) that compared these two and probably u have to go back and read it before commenting. Of course Anil had been a great force in Test cricket and no player has won matches for India more when compared to his compatriots. His strength is his strength (i.e. he can bowl really really long spells and that requires tremendous strength). In my opinion, he should have retired from ODIs after 2003 world cup and concentrated solely on Test matches. Probably, India cud have won more test matches, where they are going backwards now.

Good Article Mukul. Especially the point on Kumble now being able to extend his Test Career. I don't think any bowler in the world- definitely no bowler in India has won so many mathces especially Tests for India than Kumble and to say that his performance had a bias towards home pitches is utter rubbish he has been instrumental along with Dravid in most of our away wins.

A truly great Cricketer who should get a proper farewell from the ODI arena with the BCCI organising a world class send off match in his honour that would be one way to restore atleast a part of the due for this truly great cricketer.

Wonder if the mandarins in BCCI will have the good sense to organise something like that?

Regards, Nirbhay.

I completely agree with Mukul. In my personal opinion Anil Kumble is the best match winner and the most underrated player of India; and it is such a petty. If you count the number of matches he won for India; it will easily surpass all the combined efforts of the so called current super stars efforts of team India. I am always amazed how the hell Indian cricket management and Indian people in general never gave him the proper respect and acknowledgement he deserved. Nations who don’t recognize their true genius deserve to be humiliated like we Asians have been in the recent cricket era.

I am appalled to see so many comments debating on who did more for Indian cricket. Just to call somebody good, you dont have to trash others. Why does it have to be like this? Cricket is a team game. Kumble is a legend, does not mean that Bhajji is useless. Bhajji would walk into any team because of his abilities. Kumble is the best, and one day Bhajji will hopefully better his records. From what I have seen of Anil Kumble, he will be the one to pray for this the most!!

Needless to say India has lost one of its most dutiful sons in the ODI arena.Kumble's sheer intelligence and always ready to slug it out and win the match for the country attitude should have guarenteed him a place in the Indian XI 9 times out of 10 but Dravid and Ganguly did not think so, keeping this gentle giant in the sidelines all the time.I feel Kumble should have not announced his retirement at this critical juncture for the team as the country needs his guile especially in the Slam Bang ODIs.Well let us respect his decision and hope he gets atleast 700 test wickets and help India win a lot more at home as well as overseas.Kumble you have been and shall always remain my favourite cricketer.Hats off to to you my Champion.

Kumble is a match winning performer in Tests and one dayers. It is politics of Indian team that he was not in regular XI. But his accuracy, consistently coming at the batsman (you never see him tired of bowling), variation in speed and spin have helped matches for India in 90's and 00's. He has been key contributor in every Indian win overseas since 2000's. Who can forget his great bowling in Australia in 2002-03? Or in South Africa. He is a champion player with very good strike rate. We want more from him in Test matches and end up some where at 600 plus wickets.

There will be a time when the great man will retire from the tests too. Then we will have to see in what dire states Indian Cricket will lie in. Without doubt he is the greatest match winner India has ever produced. He is not as talenetd as Warne or Murali but through pure grit, hardwork and commitment he has become their equal in all respects. Sachin, Lara, Warne and Murali are geniuses and thus cannot be idols for the common people, but he is an excellent idol for the common man showing that hard work, sincerity, courage, willpower etc will enable a normal person to vie for the top honours along with the very best. Best of Luck to him in the future and lets hope he gets better recognition when he leaves the Test Arena, because I don't think we are ever going to get a player like him any time soon

Sachin, Kumble, and Saurav should Retire from Tests Too (Like Shane Warne) and it is time to look ahead

Anil was a great hero of Indian cricket. But, at 37 it is high time he retires from test cricket too. Otherwise, what is the point of coming back from a most humiliating defeats in the World cup and getting publicity for retiring from one day cricket?. It is a joke, as he would have been not selected for one day cricket anyway. Shane Warne retired from test cricket even though he was bowling wonderfully well. Anil’s performance in last 2 years in both form of cricket has been ordinary by his own standards. He is also 37. It is time he leaves the scene for a youngsters like Piyush Chawla and Romesh Powar. Even a very talented Appanna can replace him.

Ian Chappell told us the truth about Sachin that every one in India is afraid to speak. Sachin was a great, great hero of Indian cricket. But fact of the matter is that his last 3-4 years have been selfish pointless cricket that has done more harm to his reputation. Remember, how angry he was when Dravid declared Indian innings when he was at 194 against Pakistan?. He has done precious little in recent times to deserve a place in the Indian team. If you are not helping the team cause it is time to move over.

Indeed, Sachin, Kumble, and Saurav the three champions of Indian cricket must retire. If they don’t they should be dropped. Shewag should be sent back to domestic cricket to earn a place back.

One has lot to learn from the Australians. They know when to retire and almost everyone there goes out as a champion.

Here is a forward looking plan for the Indian cricket.

Best Indian First line of Second line of Third line of
Team from Back up Back up Back up
April, 2007 Players Players Players

1 Robin Uttappa Gautham Gambir
2 SA Asnodkar Akash Chopra
3 Mahindra Dhoni Dinesh Karthik
4 Yuvraj singh SK Raina
5 Rahul Dravid (Captain)
6 Manoj Tiwary Cheteswar Pujara Virendar Shewag
7 Joginder sharma P Kumar C Raghu
8 Sreeshanth
9 KP Appanna
10 Munaf Patel Ishant Sharma Zaheer Khan Ifran Pathan
11 Ramesh Powar Piyush Chawla

Dravid should remain the captain and he is doing a fantastic job (in spite of lack of support from some players). Greg Chappell to should be continued for at least 2 years and see whether he can show results in new set up. Mohinder Amarnath can be future coach of India.

Let us hope firm and strong decisions are made. Ofcouse, anyone is welcome to come back to team with outstanding performances in the domestic cricket. But that should be based on super performances.

Let us look for the future of Indian cricket with decisions that has nothing to do with sentimentality.

Best regards

Dr. Prasad S. Thenkabail
Colombo
SRI LANKA

We salute the great profeesional cricketer that was kumble. He is a great gentleman too. He along with Dravid are the best in the business and thanks for your services to indian cricket.

hi,
Anil is a great bowler, india ever had ;its unappropriate to say that kumble is not successful outside india-at the first place india has hardly won matches outside india;india has not put huge total to ease pressure on bowlers ; infact, no indian bowler has done xtremely well overseas; we have won matches overseas bcoz of the combination of both batting and bowling which is the case for any team ; above all i feel kumble is underused -he is a good bat and a brilliant leader ; kumble should have given a chance to lead india ; even now we can make kumble to lead current test team ; THANK U

Ya Anil Kumble is one of the greatest bowlers produced by our Indian cricket.He is the only spinner who took ten out of ten wickets in test cricket history.He is the LEGEND.He will be remembered for a long time by the cricket fans of our country.Fans are very sad to hear about his retirement.I think its a good decision about his retirement because he can concentrate more on test cricket.He is the only greatest bowler who took 500 above wickets from our country.He is the only bowler who can bowl googlys very perfectly.

When Kumble first started, I didn't think much of him. I somehow thought that spinners must turn the ball a lot and Kumble doesn't turn squat! The more he played, and the more I understood his game, I realized that even with his style, variety, and aggression, batsmen could not only be troubled, but also intimidated. As you and Srinath have pointed out, Kumble is one player who never gave up. That aggression and never-say-die attitude is missing in most Indian players currently, which is a big cause of India's early exit from the World Cup. And yes, I was surprised that he was not included for his experience in a do-or-die game against Sri Lanka. Let us hope that selectors continue to pick him for test matches, with him mentoring newer players.

Hi:
Goodbye Anil.. I know the time has come to move on though I wish it could have been sweeter. If I were to choose One Bowler who could win me a match, I would pick you everyday of the week & twice on Sundays.

In India the noisy chiken gets the worm....a man who went about doing his duty without even a whimper of complain, will forever lie cobwebbed in the annals of history...sad!

Anil Kumble has been a valuable asset for the indian team. Who can forget his heroics against the West Indians in the Hero Cup. Kumble was relentless. Bowling on and on, in any circumstances favourable or unfavourable. He never had the poster boy image which others had. Will miss ya jumbo! May you prevail in tests now!

Thanks for the post. It will take some doing to fill Kumble's boots.
There has been a lot of debate about his effectiveness outside India. Well, to win matches, you not only need to bowl out opposition, but you need to bowl them out for less than what you get. Indian batsmen never really gave him any chance to have a real go at the opposition by putting up paltry totals. Had the likes of Azhar and others been able to put up big runs consistently like Aussie batsmen, Kumble might have been able to attach better and win matches abroad as well.
It is noteworthy that the only time India put up strong totals under Ganguly in Australia, Kumble was able to strike fear in the minds of Aussie batsmen and bowl India to victory.

"Anil Kumble is introduced into the attack". The statement heard by those who have been following Indian cricket over almost 15 years is synonymous with hope, a belief that here is some one who would give us the much needed breakthrough, put the plug on scoring.

Since 1992 when Anil established himself in the Test Arena, Anil Kumble has won India countless matches both Test Match and ODIs. I remember the days when Azhar was the captain, as soon as the bowling was not going right it was time to get in "Jumbo" into the attack and most of the time he delivered.

The memories will remain...the fizzing top spinners, the wily changes of pace, the indomitable fighting spirit whether Test or ODIs.

Commitment is something that each individual can learn from him, the art of never giving up. Even though not the best athlete he would give in 100% on the field.

The batsman, Kumble has also made priceless contributions especially in the Test Arena though on a slightly comic note he was our pinch hitter a few times :-)

His bowling especially in the past 5 years has gotten better with experience. He bowls superbly whether India or outside India.

"Hats off to Jumbo from all of India." and after a wonderful career in ODIs he deserved a much grander farewell.

First of all,Thank You Mr Kumble for all the wonderful moments that have made me a proud Indian Cricket Fan!Your moments of magic and guile is something that stuff legends are made of!I am sure things will be different in the longer version and if you do call it a day it will not be due to a lack of playing time.Thanks again.And Good Luck for the future.

Hi,
Anil Kumble has taken retirement from ODIs .So, we will not be able to see him in onedayers again.
I personally feel that Kumble is a great great bowler not because he had taken most number of wickets in onedayers for india but for some other reasons as well.
For many years he has been the bowler for India in the middle overs. Many great batsman do target
him but we all know he was the one who gifts India with price scalps when they are needed. I had always believed that even though a batsman is set , he had the best chance to defeat him (i.e to take his wickets). People might say that sometimes he becomes too predictible because he doesn't turn the ball but my answer to those people is that although he had less turn in his deliveries but he had great variations and because of those he had taken 884 international wickets.So all in all an unsung hero of Indian cricket who deserved something more than the selectors had provided him in later stages of his career.
I wish Kumble best of luck for 700 test wickets.

Thank you. Have a good day

I would like to congratulate Kumble for his services to the world of cricket. I think this year has been disastriaus for world cricket. We have lost alot of great players all arround the world.
Shane warne
Macgrath (wc only)
Inzy
Kumble
Tendulakar (Yes or no)
Brain Lara (after wc)
Justin Langer
Damian Martyn

These players are champions and I feel myself lucky to see them playing cricket. Players like Warne, Kumble and Lara born once in a generation.
I wish them happy life.

Cheers

It is indeed good fortune that kumble was grossly under-utilized in ODIs. he is a far more valuable asset in tests. I don't see a replacement for him for another 3 years.There is presently no bowler in the domestic circuit who can match kumble in his commitment, never say die attitude and keep pegging away at the batsman for 30 or so relentless overs in a day!

Kumble has constantly reinvented himself into a better bowler. I remember him being hit to all parts of the ground by Aravinda and Jayasuriya. But he always came back a better bowler. I cannot forget the flipper that bowled Aravinda in the 1996 WC semifinal. I can remember countless ocassions when Kumble won us 1 day games also. We all know about the Hero cup, but what about the Titan cup where he was matchwinner with both bat and ball. He is easily the greatest bowler in the history of cricket to be doubted even after getting more than 300 wickets in each form of the game. I hope folks realise his contribution to Indian cricket before he retires completely.

Kumble the great.....No one can match the endless contribution he has given to Indian cricket. He may not be hot property on Media like Sachin, Dravid, Ganguly or Yuvi but combine the winning records of all and Kumble will surely overcast all these Media clouds to shine like the brightest star in the horizon of Indian cricket. He has always given more than 100% and being a tema man. His records speaks for him and he is the one whose record cant even be broken by anybody.........Kumble you are great and will always be remembered. We hope your one day retirement will certainly extend ur test career. We are sorry, you could not get the shine for which you were capable of.

Dr. Prasad S. Thenkabail are you high, where do u see that dravid should stay as captain. by far ganguly has the best form after his return in the team from the 4. (shewag,dravid,tendulkar,ganguly). a captain is very important for the team, have u ever seen dravid with energy on the field, he looks like a loser even when he is on the toss. I can see that he has done well only in india and leaving the test series in westindies. in his captaincy, we lost to pakistan after having a winning star, lost to SA, WI and we were not able to win the icc champions trophy in india. i can see that after ganguly entering the team there was imporvement, but after all captain is captain, we had to loose the world cup. he doesn't even know how to suffle his bowlers, he wants to stick the the 4 frontliners even if they are bowling like shit. DR.. go do what u r best at..stop cricket and if u want to argue more, where you are totally pls to mail me at ruchirbkk@hotmail.com

I felt sad at the way he had to go. It is like he was almost forced to retire. Yes retirement was due from him but its sad to see that India's worst ODI performance coincided with it. I would've loved to see him go on a high and I certainly hope that he goes on a high from Test cricket. And in the 15+ years that he has represented India, no other player comes closer to him in the intensity and commitment towards the team.

We'll miss him!

Big salute and a thank you to the gentle giant. He was one of the reasons that keeps me interested in cricket - the dedication, the hard work and the stomach for a good fight. Rest of the crowd are bottlers including SRT. The reason given to exclude him against SL match was mind-boggling. He may not have had flattering figures against SL (not sure) but when you have your backs to the wall and need to move ahead, he would be the first name on the team sheet.

We will miss you in 1-days. Good luck for your test career. Hope that at least lets you go on a high!

Anil Kumble, the prodigal son whom we Indians find it easy to forget, whenever he has an off day. Irrespective of all that may be said about his limited balling skills, his lack of spin, him being a variant of a medium pacer, prasanna and company being the best ballers etc.,

The fact remains that Anil Kumble remains the best baller India has ever produced, yes I do mean better than all those "greats" of the past. I admit that I may be guilty of overlooking their achievements, since I never saw them in action, but if factors other than just natural talent are considered, Kumble towers above all. In his absence the present Indian balling lineup is pedestrian and flea bitten, with the likes of Zaheer, Munaf, Irfan, Sreesanth being pedestrian at best and Agarkar and Harbhajan being atrocious. No baller , no scratch it, player has won more matches for India both at home and abroad than Anil Kumble. Time and again he's displayed his astute cricketing mind that helped him overcome all his limitations and reach where he's today. His record speaks for himself, he may not have Murali's or Warne's top-like spin, may not have a doosra, may not have a teesra etc. but what he has in plenty is grit, determination, a keen mind and an aggressive attitude on field. He's never had the luxury of defending good totals on foreign surfaces till recently and still he's carried India through many a times. He's been let down by some amateurish Indian fielding costing him many more wickets. Kumble will be one baller India will find extremely difficult to replace. Harbhajan is just not upto it. The man has excuses for everything, but rarely has had anything to show for the hype. Perhaps he could do to take a leaf out of Kumble's book

Anil Kumble . Take a Bow

It is a little disappointing to see so few comments about this. As someone mentioned before, its indicative of contemporary media culture- prefer the showpony over the racehorse.

To the point though, from an Australian perspective, Anil Kumble was a great ODI bowler. Like others, it befuddles me as to why India kept choosing Harbhajan Singh over Kumble. As Mukul rightly points out, Harbhajan was really only ever used in a defensive sense in one dayers. But Kumble was always about attack. While Shane Warne had a bigger repetoire to call upon, I always thought Kumble had better command of drift and overspin, and the tenacity to match Warnie's.

I know that he hasnt quit Tests (which is a blessing for all of us), but I still draw my mind back to Adelaide 2003, where after getting hammered on day one, Kumble snuffed out Australia on the second day with five wickets. Although Dravid was the guy who really took India to a place they've scarcely been, it pays to remember it was Kumble who started the charge. He had a magnificent series, and although it was disappointing from an Australian perspective, he rubbished all his critics who claimed he couldnt bowl outside India.

Its just a great pity that many Indian fans don't realise the true value of Kumble. Given recent form, the powers-that-be will probably try and replace him with another showpony that 'promises much' and delivers little. Guys like Dravid, Kumble and Laxman have been the true stars for India, and they've been the ones to bear the brunt on many occasions. If you ask me, India deserves nothing but failure for their lack of acknowledgement for said champions...

This champion class act of Indian cricket doesn't deserve anything but our gratitude and thanks for what he has done for Indian cricket.

Given that his entire career (all the way through him becoming the highest wicket taker for India in Tests and ODIs) has been characterized by an utter lack of respect and admiration ONLY from the Indian public (the respect he has from the cricket players and afficianados of England and Australia is immense), the way in which he has fought every single battle, whether it was for India or K'taka, with that ferocious committment is something else. I guess he was never flashy enough for us, didn't appear on TV or billboards enough to grab our imagination.

All through the "he is useless, can't spin it like Warney" comments and the times when he was dropped, he maintained such a dignified silence that it is unbelievable. And when he came back into the team, it was just Kumble-as-usual - the fighting, committed and passionate player that he is.

We can only wish for a few more such players of limited talent, quiet and unflashy demeanor and polite and intelligent articulation about all matters cricket, and we may begin to win everything under the sun.

Hats off champ. You have been very special.

Kumble good, Sachin bad? Reminds you of 2 leg good, 4 legs bad situation at Animal farm? The bottom line is that Kumble being an educated graduate showed his intelligence in reading the ominous signs whereas Sachin is, very unfortunately, inviting the kick!

Kumble was a fighter, never gave up... unfortunately the same cannot be said of Sachin. Most of Kumble's career highlights came in massive wins, Sachin's centuries were part of drawn matches or sudden batting collapses, Sachin should take leave now, every great player's leaving, he'll be fondly remembered too!

I had the unfortunate experience of being on the same plane as our cricket team, there truly was a sense of despondency and failure. I saw a senior player refusing to sign the BLUE shirt of a 5 year old kid and arguing with his mother on his actions. The board would do well to teach their players to respect the fans as much as they love them!

When a police raid fails, it's the SHO who has to take resposibility, when a commando unit can't fulfil its duties, the seniors take the blame, why should our team be different... they're a working unit and the seniors should step forward. Especially the most senior of them all, Mr Sachin, would do well to read the writing on the wall... he was lethargic in the field, not inventive in his bowling and handicapped in the batting, the major blame unfortunately rests with him, He should walk away before a selector shows him the door. That day would be painful for all of us!

Kumble is one of the greatest cricketer ever played for India. Well said, Harbhajan does not come anywhere close. BCCI, Media and corporations have not given its due to the man but we Indians know deep in our heart that he was the greatest match winner for India. When it comes to ethics, selflessness, team spirit and all other good qualities there is only one other player I can think of who can come close or be on par with Kumble, that is Dravid. I wish Kumble best of everything and a prolonged successful career in test cricket.

Truly a great cricketer and a gem of a character. One has never witnessed Anil bhai releasing statements against the team management or the selectors when he was not preferred for the one dayers for the past 4-5 years. Hope that at he relishes the same success as he has in the past.

So as expected Anil Kumble retired from ODI cricket after a humiliating 6 years on bench.
He played 63 games in last 6 yrs and took 63 wkts. He played second fiddle to wktless harbhajan Singh who was once a strike bowler. Modern india captains mishandled him. kept him on bench, did not take him to confidence, dropped him and all that. One man who had great faith in Kumble was Azhar. He always used to bring on Kumble as 1st change in those 90s games and more often than not Kumble used to deliver. It was tough to get better of Kumble then. Even Sachin handled Kumble well. Kumble played pivotal role in those 89 victories for Azhar in 176 games he captained India in. Azhar would have more faith in Kumble than in any other spinner or pacer to break a partnership or get a breakthrough. And that precisely says why Kumble had so many spinning partners unlike now then. (Raju, Chauhan, Kulkarni, Hirwani, Bahoootule, Bhajan, Sarandeep etc etc).
The greatest memory of Kumble as a ODI bowler would be 6-12 against WI in packed Eden gardens in 1993 Hero Cup. And those countless number of times when he gave his everything to the game. Though he lost his sheen in later part of his career but he grew sharper in tests, he would be remembered as greatest ODI Indian bowler too.
Though experts would belittle him in front of Warne and murali, but Kumble would remain a greatest of this era for he got 884 wkts on his limited abilities to turn, but tremendous abilities to give his best, commitment, skidding balls, faster ones, yorkers, lbws......
Its a good news that he would be with us in tests for at least 1-2 years and 650 wkts r minumum he can achieve. Hats off Anil, you have given us countless memories to cherish.....

Hi all,

As correctly pointed out when we heard " Kumble introduced into attack" there used to be a sense of assurance that even on his off day, runs will come at a premium and there is always a chance of wicket in both forms of the game. Can any body point out a similar bowler in Indian cricket even now. I belive he was the best spinner India produced.I acknoledge is was not a classic spinner like Venkat or Bedi etc but undoubtedly he has single handedly won more matches for india that any of his collegues. Lucky we can see him for another couple of years in Test Cricket.Once he retires from test cricket I think it will be void which will be hard to fill.

Thanks count less times for giving us so many moments to cherish including the 10 wicket haul which can never be overtaken by any body.

G'day To All Cricinfo Readers, Writers And Hardworking Staff,

I have only a few words that i feel has been earned fully and thoroughly by ANIL KUMBLE and that my friends are:

ANIL KUMBLE is simply a Legdend in his name, game and in what ever fame he has achieved. To put it any less would be insulting the best that India has ever produced both as a player and as a professional & dedicated Sportsman.

I salute the man with all my honour, heart and soul. The game will miss the greatest ledgend India's History books may one day write off but in our hearts ANIL KUMBLE will always remain a true Champion.

I will never understand that why would Indian Team Selectors not choose the best of it's kind in any game irrelevant of past records or the opponents. It is indeed sad for fans where bias and personal glory is put before the interests of spirit of the sport and it's fans.

Jai Hind

Hi,
Anil to my mind is the cricketer who the youngsters should emulate. Polite, Erudite, Competetive, Genious are all adjectives which apply to him. And also retiring, when people ask why and not why not? I always admired him for his on field and off field demeonour. I wish him all the best and thank him for the pleasure he gave us watching him.

dear Mukul,
thanx for the article. as usual people will argue about who is the best or the worst which is not definitely an easy one.
like few other indians who have their head above their shoulders in place after getting into the limelight, anil still is clear headed and he normally doesnt wash dirty linen in public which he could have done during th press confernce. as some one suggested, BCCI should try to used the cool headed personality to develop cricket in india if at all we want to become a force to reckon with in the NEAR FUTURE

I read somewhere that when Kumble had his broken Jaw and came to bowl he was in such pain that he could'nt move it even to drink water properly, and to bowl out there truly greatly shows his fighter attitude.His grit literally made every Indian proud in front of the world...similarly Id read that Kapil dev was down with some injury while he was playing...there was a crucial match the next day..he took painkiller injections every 4 hours the whole of the previous night so that he could bowl with fire.... such heroes truly deserve to be appreciated. Whenever I occassionally drive in front of Kumble's house, I used to look out to see if I can get a glimpse of the towering smiling assassin..or the JUMBO that he is called....I might stop by next time and wish him with flowers . The respect he commands is his strength...Thanks Kumble for giving your best to Indian Cricket.Salute!

Indeed anil is a great guy with the gift of spin by the god almighty, almost for a decade and half he had spun us{india to great victories} . One great relief is we will yet get to witness this great bowler in action in Tests. We as indians should be proud of this man . Hats off Kumble

Dear Mukul,
Kumbple should retire from test cricket too. Then we can salute a champion. He is past prime and there are youngesters who deserve a place (Piyush and Appanna). Kumble era is over.

Likewise Ganguly and Sachin's era is over too. They should all retire in grace. They should look at the examples of Warne, Macgraw, and few other Australians who recently retired. Otherwise they should be dropped. Sachin, Kumble, and Ganguly have done great service for Indian cricket and they should now leave with high honors. Ian Chappell has so well written that at best someone like Sachin may add to his pile of runs, but he is hardly helping the cause of India.

Ofcouse, we will be delighted if they can prove us wrong. But look at Sachin's batting over last 3 to 4 years, it is sketchy and does disservice to his talent.

Harbachan should definitely go. He was indeed lucky to get ahead of Pawar for the world cup and he simply does not deserve a place in the Indian team. Shewag, must do something dramatic in the domestic cricket to return to the team.

Dravid as captain has done a wonderful job. He has not got the support he deserves and some players with certain attitude must go. Greg Chappel is a question difficult to answer. His support of Dinesh karthik as a leader is questionable. But Karthink should be given chance ahead of Dhoni in few matches so that immensely talented Dhoni will focus on cricket rather than advertisements. Greg's support of Suresh Raina is also questionable (given how many times Suresh has failed).

The selectors have to look for talent, commitment, and intensity and support them. Someone like Appanna (few have heard of him) can be a spinner India needs. He is young 17+ and has a world before him and is immensely talented.

Ofcouse age is no barrier, when performance is top class like that of Hyden.

Let us see whether the selectors and the board have the courage.

Prasad

END OF AN ERA.un heard ,un sung,un wept .yes the retirement of ANIL KUMBLE,one of the 4 greatest spin bowlers along with vinoo mankad,subhash gupte,and chandra.In last 15 yrs.he was only second to shane warne.( i do not consider Murli because of controvercial reason)It was criminal on part of indian management that he was not picked in 2 out of 3 crucial matches.As Boycott says one should pick quality bowler.I hope he will serve the nation in Test cricket for along time

Salute Kumble... he is the best cricketer India has produced after Kapil Dev...
One thing we have to take from Kumble is commitment... Even in his batting, he never threw his wicket... One can see his face when he gets out (thatz how u fell... plp like shewag n dhoni, etc note)... I always felt kumble n harbajan shld play together in ODI... Only Azhar used Kumble well... rest didnt use him... when u can play a ever out of form scheway... i will always play kumble... indian captain, coach shld be blamed for all this... Once again... All the best to Kumble... Most loved son of India after Kapil Dev

India - the land of sages and spinners!

Come on guys - enough of this mushy, sentimental stuff about Kumble. Let us talk some reality. Kumble's retirement from ODI and his imminent retirement from test cricket, leaves us having to answer some very important questions regarding the future of Indian cricket: (1) how good is indian spin bowling?, (2) have we invested sufficiently in developing young spin talent, nearly as much as we have in trying to develop pace bowling? For example, do we have anything akin to the MRF-Lillie pace foundation that develops spinners? I really believe that we would be better off channelling much of our efforts towards developing the next Bedi, Prasanna, Chandra, Venkat, and Kumble than trying to find the next Kapil Dev, because Kapil Devs don't come along very often.

Finally, I believe that our Indian soil is as fertile for the production of spinners as it has been for sages over the centuries. Therefore, it would be wise for us to invest in developing spinners. We should utilize the experience and wisdom of cricketers such as Bedi, Prasanna, Chandra, Venkat, and Kumble to discover and develop spinners who can anchor India's bowling for years to come.

If kumble was born in bombay or delhi he would have been the greatest cricketer india has ever produced.Today he is remembered has just a another spinner who has won matches for india.

One of the Greatest Cricketers to have graced Indian Cricket.He was the man who stood up to the occasion when it mattered most.We will miss you in ODI's but where it matters more - In the test arena you will stride as a Giant .Please be around for the next 2-3 years atleast before handing over the mantle.

The sunset might not have been glorious on your ODI career but the sun sure will be remembered as the one which shown the brigtest for its acumen and commitment.

We hail you Kumble!!!

Hi,
My congratulations to Anil kumble, for having the sense to retire, after the WC debacle. I am sorry to see such a hardworking, genuine gentleman to call it a day. I wish some of the others, who have been great cricketers, in the past would also see the writing on the wall for themselves and do justice to themselves and for the future of the cricket, and gracefully exit.
I am sure its a personal decision for the individual cricketer, but the Board has to act in a decisive manner and act in the best interest of the Country's Cricket and not play upto to the wishes of a few.
I wish Anil and his family, all the best for future. May Cricket be the winner, so all of us who are the fans can enjoy it.

Hi Everyone

Anil Kumble is probably the most patriotic cricketer in the present team. No one can doubt his commitment to the team. Its very unfortunate that he was not utilised properly by the team think tank and most of the times was made to warm the benches. Its good that he has announced his retirement from ODI cricket. I hope he overtakes Mcgrath in test cricket and win many many matches for India.
Hail Anil Kumble!!!

WELL DONE KUMBLE,
HE WAS AND IS A GREAT LOVER OF CRICKET AND HIS COUNTRY.wats the point in hanging in when theres no room for youngsters.
Indian team has a lack of youngesters and security amongs the players...

Lets imagine that ind finds the best new batsman to the team..The young guy is selected to the team and one big colosal SACHIN is left out for now....But the new guy knows that sach can come in when ever he feels ,cause of his god like state... Soo it creates more insecurity...AND INSECURITY IS THE NO 1 KILLER OF TEAM SPIRIT,, AND INDIAN TEAM HAS LOT OF INSECURITIES...IND DONT NEED MORE INSECURITIES....

.SO the best thing is to SAC and dravid to folow suite as anil....and LET THE NEW COMMERS TO FEEL FREE AND SECURE THEIR PLACE IN THE TEAM...

reg

Have to agree wit above comment...

Ind needs some self assurance and the best way is some big heads to retire...
Am not saying Anil was a big head...
But ind has to kick out some ego 's and let the new nerves step in....
Wats the point in hanging in and not letting the young blood flow through.......

and its really hard to a young guy to replace Saching when hes still in the team sidelined( OR even set aside by chappel).
Seniors should look at future and make this sacrifice as an investement for the future......

Anil Kumble - name synonymous with hope, persistence, confidence, relentless and result. For atleast whole ten years he was the lone bowling machine for India winning almost all test played in India under Azhar's captaincy and also lurked fear among batsman when he played abroad. I don't understand what is the big noise about his inability of not turning the ball. This guy is not a spinner, he is a unique bowler of himself - and he got us success with this uniqueness. Lets not judge and compare him with the likes of Warne or Marali. Lets judge him as a bowler who won so many matches for India. In my books, Kumble is the best bowler India has ever produced in any form of the game. He is the best match winner - the statistics will tell you the rest of the story

I liked his attitude to the game and probably this attitude should have spread to TEAM INDIA in the world cup ( which it did not ). Sadly he has not been his economical best perhaps because he bowled slower through the air in test matches and consequently the economy went for a toss in One dayers. Hopefully he plays more tests and gets more wickets and by that makes India win more matches. More than 300 wickets in One dayers is no joke after all

I can only hope Kumble will get a better coverage the moments he will say 'Bye' to his more than outstanding test career , he has truly been a better servant of Indian cricket in the era of cricketing 'Film stars' not the masters .My best wishes for a cricketing master .....

Anil Kumble has been the best bowler for india for the last10-15 years by a mile.I am very happy that you wrote this point about the victories he gave india. I think even if we put together the batting efforts of all our 4 great men-Sachin,Saurav,Dravid and Laxman , whatever victories we have achieved, most of the time have been backed up by a 5 wicket haul from Kumble.
Hats off to kumble for his service to indian cricket and i hope he continues to play test cricket as long as is possible

Kumble is the gretaest spinner India has produced. At least statistically and statistics mean a lot when they tell a great story over a 17 year period. Purist will still not agree when they compare his skills with that of Bedi, Prasanna who were more classical spinners. Well if bowling without that kind of artistry gets me over 500 test wickets and over 300 ODI ones, I will take it any day. It was a surprising fact that in spite of such staggering stats, he was in and out of the ODI team for past few years. People may question his lethargic fielding but then how many in the Indian team were better than him ?

Having said that, Anil was not so effective in one dayers over last 4-5 years particualrly against the teams like Pakistan, Sri Lanka etc. however I have to agree that in the current Indian World cup team, he should have been preferred to Harhajan who for past year or so has been inexplicably bowling a flat trajectory and a middle and leg line rather than doing what he was good at ie flighting the ball and etting turn and bounce. In fact I thought he was lucky to be preferred over Ramesh Powar whom we sorely missed in this world cup.

Coming back to Kumble, he certainly deserved a better platform to say goodbye. Silverlining to it all, could be a couple of extra years in test cricket.

Dear Mukul,

If you didn't watch cricket in the 70's, I forgive you. Otherwise, It's sad that you show your ignorance. You said that the Indian cricket was sustained since 1971 by Sunil Gavaskar, Kapil Dev and Anil Kumble. What nonsense?

You have blatantly ignored the contribuitions of Vishy, Pras, Chandra, Bedi, Venkat, Solkar, Kirmani, Srinath, Azar, Sourav etc.,

Please stop writing about cricket without the knowledge or doing some research.

Kumble is the greatest spinner India has produced and will always be remembered for his 10 wickets against the Pakistan side. It is about time his team mates who have contributed to india's success all these years also retire with grace like Tendulkar,Ganguly,Dravid, Shewag and make way for the young players to take over. Besides, we should also look for an Indian coach who takes care of the Indian cricket team rather than having an outsider. Sundeep Patil would be a good choice with Robin Singh his assistant.

Some thoughts on comments made about Sunil Gavaskar. During the 70s and 80s the innings used to be held by this man alone at the top. There were a few occasions when either a Vishy or Amarnath would come and play a gem in the middle order. Think about the attacks that Sunny had to face during those days-Windies, Aussies with Lillie and Thommo, NZ with Hadlee, Pak with Imran, Sarfraz and to put a player who had handled all these speedsters for most of the time without any head gear except in last part of his career with a skull protector is to say the least disrespectful.
Remember the minefield in Bangalore when he stood between Victory and Pakistan on a wicket which was turnig square.
To put it simply if Sunny wasnt there India would have lost many many more matches than it had in that point of time. Draws need not mean that it was winnable by India , in most cases it would have been India about to lose or on the verge of a loss.
He was indeed one of the Giants of Indian cricket who held things together at the top and he did it with great panache.
I feel that Anil is the most underrated achiever for the Indian team for what he has performed in a highly illustrious career.
Shankar

Anil is the best Indian spinner ever produced. Reasons here they are :

1) He has got max wkts than any other spinner born on Indian soil.
2) If this is not enuf then he has won India more matches than any other spinner in the history f the Indian cricket both home and abroad.
3) He has not great ability to turn the ball as his glorious predecessors had, but the number of wkts he has taken are far more than those great souls have taken.
4) Anil has won India a series in Pakistan, West Indies and almost we won in SA (06), Aus (03-04) but at least we won the test matches abroad with better frequency in those days when the famous 4 played.
5) He might be less in average than those spinners but he has got better stike rates than those. Anil won Indian so many matches on his own bowling that even if you combine the no of matches won by all 4 taken together, Kumble would exceed them.
6) This is an era of better batsmen and flatter tracks than those in 60s and 70s. So Kumble s achievments go a mile beyond the 4.
7) The famous 4 failed in Pakistan tours and the 1978 ill fated tour brought the curtains on the careers of Bedi and Prassana, whereas Kumble for 1st 15 years of his int'l cricket dint play a test in Pakistan, but when he did (2004) he won India the series (highest wkt taker on either side, 15 in all)...Something which not even great Kapil Dev could do....
Comments n attacks expected!!!!!!!

Under-appreciation is an Indian trait, and Anil Kumble suffered from it. We are too quick to adopt the "Flash Harry's" of this world and forget the work horses. I would like to thank Mr Kumble for his efforts on behalf of all Indians and am proud that we have had (and will still have in Test matches)someone who we can point to and say "He is one of us"!

Well said Shankar.....Absolutely Sunny was the greatest batsmen of his generation. He faced all the fierce fast bowlers perhaps the best in the history of game...Forget Aussies and Kiwis or for that case Pak too, look at the WI attack and how gr8 record he has against them...13 hundreds in 38 games against them is superb and opening without helmet is something unparalleld to the likes of Marshall, Roberts, Garner, Holding , Croft.....He was the 1st true world class batsmen of India no doubt we had Vijays and Makad, but he was the one who took India out of mediocracies and established it on the world cricket and perhaps later on we cud see the likes of Azhar, Sachin and Dravid taking it forward in Tests.....Sunny and Kapil were 2 players which turned the fortunes of Indian cricket and made the world take notice of India in this game. It rarely happens in India when we see the greatest batsman and greatest bowler playing together. It happeened once in 70s and 80s and now its for Sachin, Dravid and Kumble in Tests.......

Hi
some thoughts on the comment made on Indian cricket being sustained by three great players. we cant take match winning as the only criteria to make a player greatest, in that case Brian Lara and Sachin tendulkar will come no way near to other guys. these two greats carried the burden of their teams batting for years, people like dravid,ponting,steve waugh never had such pressures on them when they went to into bat. and they sustained ot for a long time. there were so many occassions when tendulkar was the only one fighting hard when we went to overseas. so greatness will never come only by winning, its the perforamnce that matters which carried for years by these greats. hence the order can be Gavaskar,Kapildev,Sachin,Kumble and Dravid.

May the past, and the present, be one with the future, by enriching it with their many experiences. May the past, and present, be remembered, in the future, with much regard, and with all the fondness, that the heart can render.

Anil was not so effective in one dayers particualrly against the teams like Pakistan, Sri Lanka etc. outside India AS ALWAYS,, however I have to agree that in the current Indian World cup team, he should have been preferred to Harhajan who for past year or so has been inexplicably bowling a flat trajectory and a middle and leg line..
BUT great professional and this decission confirms his ethics....
If sachin has some personality he should also retire,,

Anil........is the man, to be watched in World Cup 07....the last match, if anil would have got a chance against SriLankans, i would definitely say that he would have won the match for us, as it was a bouncy track for him..India U missed him, rather to be more precise...u didn't put him on the team.....i was really struck, when dravid taking about stratagies, didn't take anil at time of crisis against SriLanka....India u really missed one of the greatest Bowler of all time.......our good old ANIL KUMBLE from BENGALURU....SHAME....

Robin Uttappa, is really a shame to India Cricket Team......what is BCCI doing with Raina, kaif and Dinesh karthik......though they are not from karantaka....lets be Indian......not take the pride of our own State, I would like to suggest to have raina, kaif and Dinesh Karthik who are terrific players, i bet on that......not uttappa, sorry robin.......though ur from Jain College....i don't feel at this time, as this is the prestige of Indians, rather than our own Bangloreans....

Hey nice comments! Kumble has indeed established himself as one of India's greatest spin bowlers. If you guys look at his records on Indian soil, he has proved himself among the greats of bowlers. He didn't get the same success outside of India but he still has something to be proud about. I think that Kumble deserved his retierment in ODIs after such a great career.

Kumble is a terror on the 4th or a fifth day wicket. Nobody can play him. He has improved from a good bowler to a consistant best bowler, No doubt he did not get enough to play due to politics in the indian cricket selection, but did his best when ever he was given the ball.

gr8 match winner. Bajji is nothing for the past easily a year he is doing nothing and still gets a place in the XI. this is bad....

Bangalore (or Bengalooru now) also got it right: at Anil Kumble Circle, you can pretty much go straight on, with no turn. Okay, okay, Bangaloreans will correct me on that, but hey it'd have been funny...

Mukul doesn't come even close to the fulsome praise that his father "Meshtru" BS Kesavan would shower on Kumble. Rivalled only by the passion of US Mohan Rao when speaking about GR Vishwanath ("hoodagaa"!), when cricket and music would merge in quite un-Cardusian metaphors.

Forget stats. Remember how many times Kumble was given the ball inside 10th over of an ODI to do both - contain runs and pick wickets and sometimes to pick wickets to contain runs - to keep Inida in the game. Ask Azhar.
Why is that we Indians don't fancy calculated, mercyless, bloodyminded strong individuals with strong ethics and consistent performers? Why do we always fancy flash-in-the-pan performers?
And this applies to every field, not just cricket.

You Indians deserve what you have at present, a load of rubbish..... Sorry but thats what you have got at present. Kumble along with Dravid are your only world class products. You can add VVVS Laxman to this list. These are what we call TEAM PLAYERS in a team game. You are obsessed with individual efforts which are often bred on home grown conditions. These are players with some pedigree.They are not what we call flat track bullies. They would have walked into any AUSTRALIAN team anytime. These were real top class stuff.
All of India is only focussing on Tendulkar. He was a fantastic player to watch no doubt. He WAS classy and may still be....But right now he looks more focussed on trying to create only milestones, forgetting that he is in a team. Records are more important to All Indians than the result . Just look at NEW ZEALAND (with a grudge), no stars but the end result is fantastic. Harbhajan is no patch on Kumble at all and all the Indian Captains just have one policy that if the opposing team has left handers then only Harbhajan or any other off spinner would be more suitable. Agreed on principle, but What if your off spinner is not good enough. Past Performance is the only critirea which may not be right always.You have to weigh in the conditions in which these results were achieved.
Here We always thought that if the match goes to the 4th or 5th day and if India has a very slight upperhand , the match was gone from our hand if Kumble was around, no body else had that effect.
Remember India had their best moments under Ganguly when this trio performed mostly. Because these were fighters and and You had scores to defend. Tendulkar has a lot of weight on his shoulders. But then this is the case with all the Big players. According to me and to general Australians he has never performed on big platforms. He has rarely performed under pressure. There is no point performing when there is no pressure on you. Anybody who gets the chance during no pressure time could do it. Remember even Michael Clarke was an unplayable spinner in Bombay once.
Harbhajan has only performed against us once on dusty tracks of India and when we just didn't know him and due to our own arrogance. He again is a spinning track bully and is like a lion then and moment the track needs some sort of work to do he is like a cat . Then he can be carted around .We sorted him out in no time and he was absolutely rubbish next time. That was when Kumble showed what he was. He along with Dravid and VVVS won matches for india.
The whole of India is preoccupied with romantic memories of their famed TRIO OF spinners. How many of them WON matches for india....? Nothing at all and rarely if ever it was on very very helpful tracks of India. Kumble has been your only match-winner ever since Kapil Dev. Kapil was again one hell of a fighter...never gave up. Fantastic was the only word which could be used for these 2 LION HEARTED bowlers because the best Batting Lineup on paper never gave them enough Totals to fight with. Only when Dravid and VVVS came and fought did you give yourselves a chance. Not due to any inspirational leadership of Ganguly which your Indian readers always refer to. These men were made up of different kind of mettle which showed in their game. I am still surprised why VVVS was not in your World Cup team. He may be slower on the field but class is class. Greg Chappel seems to have missed a trick here . But why was Kumble not played by Dravid in important matches and instead Harbhajan was played. Maybe, due to his being from the same city , Bangalore, I think. He may not be wanting to look as if he was being partisan to his city mate. This is a big problem in India and pakistan. You all have this regional problem that you have to deal with. Or was it the Gang of Untouchables...the gang who everybody is afraid to touch. This is a team game, anybody who does not fit in the strategy on that day should give way and support the others. This is where Kumble, Dravid and VVVS showed their true character. Infact here in Australia, everyone was impressed with Dravid's captaincy initially .But in the World Cup you could see that he was under great strain. Looked like he was not getting his team and wanted to please everyone. He certainly was not getting enough support on the field. Ganguly was more interested in getting his own place in the side at the cost of run rate/team and in turn put pressure on the other batsmen. He clearly was not in the game at all and was playing politics with the team management. Harbahajan and Yuvraj are anyway known to be problem types. However good you are, remember captain has to get support on the field. Internal politics seems to have killed this fantastic team. We thought that this was one good team in the World Cup, with a few exceptions in the team. This team could have surprised Australia, forget the rankings....
We salute you,Anil Kumble for being what you are and your fighting spirit which is a very rare commodity in your team. You were the most humble person and not the kind to show emotions like your other city mates Srinath and Dravid. Toughness is from inside and thats what all of you showed on the field by never giving up and giving all your support to your captain,team and Country.
YOU WERE THE BEST BOWLER INDIA HAS EVER PRODUCED. Spin or no spin. What matters is the respect that you gained overseas, specially in our country.
INDIA WAS LUCKY TO HAVE YOU.
Wish you were an Australian