Anil Kumble. The name conjures up image of a tall, bespectacled bowler who runs in like a spinner but hurls the ball like a medium pacer. The batter is startled by the pace on the ball. He tries to adjust to the length and the pace of the ball but before he realises, he is caught in two minds. Whether to go forward or stay right of the backfoot. The split second indecision spells his doom. It was really India’s fortune that Kumble started his career at a time when wins even at home were proving to be elusive if not rare. The genial giant Anil Kumble changed the face of Indian cricket for the foreseeable future.
18 years. That is the length of Kumble’s career. Only Sachin Tendulkar played for more number of years atleast amongst the Indians. An underrated giant. The pillar of Indian cricket. He is greatest Indian match winner. Yes all these anecdotes will suit well with Kumble. He has afterall won more tests for India than the spin quartet.
High praise from cricketers of his era
Mohammed Kaif, who played alongside Kumble paid glowing tributes to him after his retirement.
“hand-held a generation of cricketers & I can vouch for this.. I can’t forget his reassuring presence at the non-striker’s end when I got my first ODI hundred. A mentor, a role model, a legend, the career of this @icc Hall of Famer is definitely worth celebrating,” Kaif wrote.
Kumar Sangakkara, the greatest Sri Lankan batsman and one of the best of his era also paid tributes
“Kumble has given me a few sleepless nights as a batsman. He was not your orthodox leg-spinner. This big, tall gangly bowler running in and bowling with very high arm action. Bowling fast, bowling straight and accurately. It was not at all easy to get him away for runs.”
Harbhajan Singh calls Kumble India’s greatest match winner. Truly so.
There were so many other cricketers who had only words of appreciation for the unassuming cricketer. It shows the amount of respect that Kumble deserves and what he has earned.
Kumble’s earlier career
Back in 1990, the 19 year old Kumble began his international journey as a legspinner. He didn’t turn the ball. He was too quick through the air. Critics were having none of it. He was dropped and returned after a couple of years. The spinner who barely spun the ball completed his career as the third highest wicket taker in the history of the sport. Behind only the greats Muthiah Muralitharan and Shane Warne.
Kumble was certainly affected by the critics as he began to evolve later in his career. More of that below.
Kumble injected the team with confidence and winning mentality
Kumble brought to Indian cricket some steel that was missing earlier. The advent of Kumble inspired the then captain Azharuddin and the coach Ajit Wadekar to form a spin oriented attack in Asian conditions. In this, Kumble was ably assisted by Rajesh Chauhan and Venkatapathy Raju. Together the trio formed a formidable combination. In the very first series, they decimated England. This induced much needed confidence into the Indian team. They were reeling under successive losses in South Africa, Australia, England, West Indies and even against Pakistan in India. The fans gave up hope. The entire scene around Indian cricket was gloomy. I still remember those dark days. Ridiculed by the entire cricketing world as a team that cannot play fast bowling anywhere. It was scary being an Indian supporter.
Tendulkar was there but he wasn’t winning any game. The Indian fraternity looked upto Kumble for some magic. Some inspiration. That Kumble delivered time and time again during the 90s slowly but surely lifted the entire cricketing fraternity around the country.
The selfless performer
Anyone who had the privilege of watching a Kumble with his jaw bandaged and running upto to bowl to Brian Lara, will always remember that day. Our hearts sank but our spirits rose.
“It was one of the bravest things I’ve seen on the field of play,” said Viv Richards.
Kumble went out of his comfort zone to help Harbhajan Singh before the famous 2001 series oblivious to the thought that Harbhajan might actually replace him in the team.
The way Kumble left the international game will always be a lesson for anyone who has overstayed their welcome. He was the captain but had to sit out of one of the test against Australia. He saw Dhoni captaining the team well and he also saw Amit Mishra pick up 5 wickets. Then he decided enough is enough and announced his retirement with immediate effect. Not even the excellent Indian batsmen of his era, Ganguly, Tendulkar, Dravid, Sehwag and Laxman can claim that.
“It’s very tough when you’ve been playing for 18 years,” he said with a stoic expression at the press conference. “My body gave me the decision. I didn’t want to let the team down, and I thought it would be fitting to finish here.”
Kumble being remembered for the negatives
Despite all of these, Kumble was defined by negatives. Critics said that he didn’t turn the delivery. That he does not have the leg spinner’s classical loop. He was too quick to take any advantage of the pitch. It was completely negative. Kumble was certainly affected as later events showed. Post the new millennium, he introduced lot of changes in his bowling. Previously, where he used to runup quickly, he now sort of slowed his approach to the crease. He gave the ball much more loop as against sending them as missiles. He also turned the ball a lot more than he usually did. Yes, these brought him wickets. Wickets in some unlikely countries like Australia & England. However, the cost per wicket was higher.
How did I view Kumble?
Let us remember. Kumble played the game when 2 of the greatest spinners ever to have played the game were around. Muralitharan & Warne. These bowlers were picking up wickets by the bucketful and in the case of Warne, he made the Englishmen, Pakistanis, New Zealanders and the Africans dance to his tune. That too on completely unhelpful wickets. Here was Kumble struggling to take wickets outside of India. My impression of him during his earlier playing career was also negative.
Gradually, my opinion changed. I understood that it is not easier for a spinner from the subcontinent to start performing in countries that does not assist spinners without proper days and months of practise. Kumble evolved and became much more successful overseas and it showed in India winning games outside the subcontinent in over 15 years. As a result, I saw Kumble in new light and my respect for him grew manifold.