Champion bowler, inspiring leader, selfless team man. Former India captain Anil Kumble has played many roles in his prolific 17 year old cricketing career, and he flipped back the pages as he spoke to a gathering at the MCG that celebrated his induction into the ICC Hall Of Fame.
Kumble, only the fourth Indian to join the elite club, was honoured to be a part of a list that included names like Sunil Gavaskar, Shane Warne and Brian Lara to name a few. The former India captain was all smiles and thanked the cricketing fraternity and the media for partaking in his illustrious career.
Rolling back the years, Kumble spoke about his collection of caps right since he made his debut until the time he hung his boots. “I cherish all those caps,” Kumble grinned. “I have all those caps and if you notice and go back at watching those videos, it is those faded caps which keep continuing to adorn my head. It has turned from blue to gray, and it is pretty faded. I still have it, but it is a great feeling to wear the India cap for the first time and then to have done that for 132 Tests and 271 ODIs is a great honour.”
Kumble will be inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame during the India-South Africa match at the MCG on Sunday. “Receiving the Hall of fame award in a world event makes it even more special,” he said. “The World Cup is something that millions watch and follow, and to receive that honour here at MCG in an India South Africa game is something really special. Probably 80 per cent of the crowd will be Indian, so it will be great to receive it in front of 80-90 thousand people,” he said.
Kumble also spoke in length about the memorable moments that have adorned his career, be it his historic 10-wicket haul against Pakistan, bowling with a bandaged jaw against West Indies in Antigua or his Test century at the Oval in 2007.
Kumble though chose the 10-fer in Delhi as his favourite one. “For me, the standout performance will always be the 10 wicket haul,” he said.
“Also, the Test hundred will always remain special because I believed that I could get a test hundred. It took me 117 Test matches to realize my batting potential but it was very special because we won the series for the first time in my career in England.”
While the champion spinner regarded the 2003-04 series Down Under as the turning point in his career, he reserved some special comments for India’s historic victory at Perth in 2008 when he was at the helm of affairs. “I think the Perth Test victory probably changed the way Indian cricket looked at that point in time of playing overseas,” he recalled.
“Perth was always considered a tough wicket to play on, especially for a foreign team, which came, especially from the subcontinent. And to beat Australia in Perth was never heard of. To go there and do that gave a lot of confidence to the team. To me that victory will remain very special.”
Kumble was part of a class that had the likes of Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar and VVS Laxman. He reminisced his times with the fab-four stating they were one of the toughest batsmen to bowl to and relished the moments they savoured together as a team. One unfulfilled wish, though, is not winning a World Cup. “I am extremely happy with my career but I would have loved to be a part of a winning World Cup team. That will be the one regret from the team’s perspective. Although we finished second in 2003 I was glad that some of my colleagues who played with me were able to achieve that in 2011 and I was there watching the game,” he said.
Talking about the current breed of Indian cricketers, Kumble said he sees a lot of himself in spinner R Ashwin when it came to work ethics and ability. “I see a lot of me in Ashwin when he is bowling or batting. He is a better batsman than me, that’s for sure,” joked Kumble.
“I can see that grit and the determination and I can see he wants to just hang around and do it for the team. I think he is a fantastic cricketer and has achieved a lot in a short span. Of course there have been a few question marks when he plays outside India, just there were with me. But, he can only get better if he starts playing outside of India. If he doesn’t play outside of India, he’ll never get better. I see Ashwin as someone who I believe has everything to be a fantastic cricketer for India.”
By: BCCI
