New Delhi . When it comes to leg spin, the image of Shane Warne appears in your mind, on the internet, on a page of the newspaper, or just by looking at every leg spinner whose ball turns a lot. When the ball changes its direction as soon as it hits…sometimes away from the batsman, sometimes near him, sometimes inside his wickets…then and then Shane Warne comes to mind. Shane Warne was synonymous with leg spin. Anil Kumble, born on 17 October 1970 in Bengaluru, was exactly the opposite. Yes, Kumble was also a spinner…a leg spinner…India's greatest leg spinner.
Everything about Kumble's balls was contrary to tradition. The speed of the balls was such that Pakistan captain Inzamam Ul Haq once said, “Our team is going to play considering Kumble as a medium pacer.”
Kumble could not turn every pitch like Warne but in his home conditions perhaps no one was more dangerous than him…not even the great Shane Warne. This is why Andrew Flintoff once said, “Warne and Murali…both are great spinners. But it is Anil Kumble who is the most dangerous in his favorable conditions.”
So how was Anil Kumble? Many of whose balls often went straight, the ball also spun less…then what was special? What was special was Kumble's commitment and variety in the balls which played more on pace and bounce than turn. Whenever he got turn from the pitch, his googly used to dance…many times his flipper used to trouble the batsmen more than the spin. God knows how many batsmen were LBW on this flipper. The bounce that Kumble used at the last moment in the runup also gave unexpected bounce to his balls. He became famous by the name of 'Jambo'. Yet in the end, it was his dedication that made Sachin say about Kumble during his captaincy days, “Anywhere…anytime.”
Whatever the pitch, whatever the occasion, you can rest easy by trusting Kumble.
This discipline, commitment and honesty of Kumble remained even after retirement. Kumble's 'tough' style as a coach was not liked by the stars of Team India. He was the same personality in bowling as Rahul Dravid was in batting. The most famous and memorable of his unforgettable performances was taking 10 wickets in a single innings against Pakistan. That match took place at Feroz Shah Kotla in Delhi in the pleasant weather of February in 1999. This is Kumble's priceless gift for the children of the 90s. Similarly, one more thing comes to my mind. When his jaw was broken during India's tour of West Indies in 2002. He tied a bandage on his head and started bowling. He could not do much but got Brian Lara out. It was a very memorable moment.
Through these small moments, Kumble gave a glimpse of his personality which was a glimpse of an easygoing, simple, serious and intellectual type of person. In the last days of his career, he started taking wickets on foreign soil also. He then developed a slow googly ball, on which Grant Flower's catch will thrill oldtime sports fans even today. He was a contemporary of the two greatest spinners, Shane Warne and Muttiah Muralitharan. The figures of all three can confuse the fans. Among these, Kumble had the least number of Test wickets…but that too is 619 wickets! That was the era of some such spinners.
Kumble was a very durable batsman even in the lower order. His test average is around 18 in 132 matches. Yet, despite being a senior player, Kumble remained far from the great aura he deserved. The reason for this is that he remained captain for a short period only. Gambhir once said on this, “If Kumble had been captain for a little longer, Indian cricket could have achieved a lot more.”
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Image Credit: KhasKhabar.