ANIL KUMBLE- The cricket Legend

Anil Kumble

India

Player profile

Full name Anil Kumble
Born October 17, 1970, Bangalore, Karnataka
Current age 38 years 17 days
Major teams India, Asia XI, Bangalore Royal Challengers, Karnataka, Leicestershire, Northamptonshire, Surrey ,Batting style Right-hand bat, Bowling style Legbreak googly

It was surprising to know that our Indian Test cricket captain has decided to retire from International Test matches..I never had dreamt that he will take this decision so sooooon..When I read a comment from former captain Dilip Vengsarkar 2 days ago, regarding Anil Kumble's poor performance since couple of test matches, I just read and forgot thinking that he will do his best again as he is known for international Test Matches..He should not have retired so soon as he is the Highest Test wicket taker for India, one of the match winning bowler for India cricket Team ..

On the fiield he never used to show off , less talkative and used to be sportive mind..

I got the opporunity to see him from very near when he came in his car, driving to Chinnaswamy stadium,Bangalore for practice session when India Vs England Series was going on where I was struggling to see our Great crickets outside the stadium..

We have to accept Change... as Change is only the constant thing in this world,as its little painful when we know that he will not be playing International cricket anymore as has already retired from One day international last year.

No bowler in history has won India more Test matches than Anil kumble, and there probably hasn't been a harder trier either. Like the great tall wristspinners Bill O'Reilly and his own idol BS Chandrasekhar, Kumble traded the legspinner's proverbial yo-yo for a spear, as the ball hacked through the air rather than hanging in it and came off the pitch with a kick rather than a kink. The method provided him stunning success, particularly on Indian soil, where his deliveries burst like packets of water upon the feeblest hint of a crack, and more than one modern-day batsman remarked that there was no more difficult challenge in cricket than handling Kumble on a wearing surface.

Kumble's prodigious capacity to bear pain was proved in Antigua in 2002 when he bandaged his fractured jaw to deliver a stirring spell, and that to continuously learn in the mid-2000s when, after a decade of middling away performances, he influenced memorable wins in Headingley, Adelaide, Multan and Kingston, using an improved googly, bigger sidespin and more variation in flight and on the crease.

In a brilliant though always downplayed career Kumble claimed virtually every Indian record. In 1999 in Delhi he swallowed all ten wickets in an innings against Pakistan. In December 2001, on home turf in Bangalore, he became the India's first spinner to take 300 Test wickets. A year later, almost to the day, he became the first to do so in one-dayers. In August 2007 at The Oval he went past Glenn McGrath's 563 wickets and in January 2008 he broke the 600 barrier, to stand behind only Shane Warne and Muttiah Muralitharan, emphasising his contribution to spin's golden era. And at The Oval he chalked up what, judging by the pure ecstasy of his reaction and the dressing room's, was perhaps his most cherished feat of all - a Test century that had been 17 years and 118 matches in the coming.

Less than a month after his 37th birthday, he received the ultimate honour when he was named India's Test captain for the home series against Pakistan. He went on to win the series, the first home triumph against Pakistan in 27 years, before playing a big role in holding the side together during the controversial series in Australia. He was also India's leading wicket-taker with 20 in the four Tests.
His form, however, slipped during the tour of Sri Lanka and there were calls for him to quit after a wicketless performance in the Bangalore Test against Australia. A shoulder injury added fuel to the fire and an upset Kumble reacted sharply, saying that he had it in him to continue for a while longer. However, he changed his mind during the Delhi Test and announced his retirement, fittingly at his favourite venue. He finished his career as the third-highest Test wicket-taker (619), behind Muttiah Muralitharan and Shane Warne.

Hope he will be busy with his own plans OR cricket academy OR coaching ,share his immense cricket experience with younger generations in coming days.

Any how all the best from all of us and wish him Good luck for his retired life..

KUMBLE WE MISS YOU A LOT ON THE CRICKET FIELD....... :-(

PHOTO : Anil Kumble with his wife & Children.