Anil Kumble - The Impeccable Player, Leader and Human

From being awarded the Padma Shri, to having a road intersection in Bengaluru named after him, to being inducted into the ICC hall of fame, Anil Kumble has exemplified the meaning of being a true sportsperson through his dedication, commitment, performance, humility and above all the reverence he has shown towards the game by always doing his best to contribute towards the upliftment of the sport.

The journey of the famed Karnataka leg-spinner who amazed the world by his spinning deliveries and the magnificent flippers he bowled is certainly one to be looked up to. Hailing from the Kumbla district of Kasaragod, which now has the main road to the government hospital named after him, Anil Kumble made his first-class debut, in the team of Karnataka in 1989.

Since then there were a few setbacks during the initial days of his international career but his consistency led him to become the third bowler after Muralitharan and Shane Warne to hold the feat of taking more than 600 wickets in Tests.

Anil Kumble’s cricketing sojourn started with his ODI debut against Sri Lanka at Sharjah in the Austral-Asia Cup on 25 April 1990. And his Test debut also came in the same year in the tour against England. But the real impetus to his career was given by his brilliant performance in the Irani Cup where his performance of 13/138 in 1992 which won him the appreciation of the selectors who reinstated the lanky spinner in the Indian side.

Anil Kumble took the bull by the horns and gave a splendid performance by taking 18 wickets at an economy of 1.84 in the four-match series and thereby cemented his place in the dressing room until his retirement in 2007.

The high point of his career and for Indian cricket came when Jumbo went ablaze by dismissing the entire Pakistan team for 74, the only bowler till date after Jim Laker to achieve this feat in 1999. The memory etched in the minds of the cricket lovers forever and earned Kumble a place in the game’s history which has been engraved in golden letters.

To praise him by words would be a disdain to his bowling performances which speak for the greatest ever spinner that the country has produced. Be it his leading wicket taking performance in the Titan Cup in 1997 where he bagged 19 wickets or his Man of the Match performance in the Border- Gavaskar trophy in 1998 or earning his place on top of the charts by being the highest wicket taker in the calendar year of 1999, all are telltale figures of a stupendous career of a great man.

Anil Kumble is not someone who waits for the weather to be bright and shiny to go out and perform but instead is brave enough to battle it out in the most tormenting of the conditions. In 2002, he was hit by a Mervyn Dillon bouncer which broke his jaw, but he still bowled in the match with a bandaged face and ended up dismissing the best batsman in the opposition team Brian Lara.

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From being called a chucker in his school and college days to being an exponential spinner with a knack of taking wickets even on placid and dead bowling tracks he has always bamboozled batsmen with accuracy, variations and pace. The man with the prized fingers has always been unconventional with all his ventures which have unknowingly dragged him in media limelight. Starting from his marriage with Chetna Kumble and the constant media glare on his legal battle with regards to the custody of  their daughter (from his wife’s previous marriage) to his talent nurturing company Tenvic and the conflict of interest issue which popped up because of his dual involvement as he was also a part of the KSCA .

Anil Kumble has never been someone who would shy away from challenges and not take the road less travelled by. In a scenario where many former cricketers take the easier route of cricket commentary after retirement, Kumble involved himself with the KSCA and was the president of the same for three years wherein he brought about significant changes for the betterment of the cricket in Karnataka. He was also the chief of the Technical committee in BCCI. His company Tenvic also started a talent hunt for young spinners in Karnataka, all suggestive of the effort he is putting in to brighten the future of Indian cricket.

Just like the bagful of wickets he always took, Anil Kumble also has a bagful of records to his name.

• He is the second player in the history of the game after Shane Warne to score 2000 runs and take 500 wickets.
• He is the highest wicket-taker in the history of the game for India till date.
• He is also the only cricketer in the world to take all 10 wickets and even score a hundred.
• He is the only leg spinner to have captained the team.
• Kumble is one among the four bowlers in the world to take 5 wickets in the Test series more than thirty times.
• He once bowled 72 overs in a Test innings.
• An Arjuna awardee in 1995, Wisden Cricketer in 1996, Kumble has added many feathers in his cap,

Just like he changed the course of Mumbai Indians in the IPL when he was roped in as the team mentor in 2013 and the team went to win two IPL trophies, in the same way he had also changed the fortunes of the Indian with his splendid performances and excellent captaincy which was heavily tested in 2007 Sydney match due to the Symonds-Harbhajan controversy but Kumble passed it with flying colors, completing the only accomplishment he had not laid his hands on.

In the end he was a successful spinner, a good captain, a great team player and above all is an excellent human who has done the country tremendously proud and is still persistent in his efforts of a better sporting future by being a part of the Athlete’s commission of World Anti-Doping Agency and is also the chairman of ICC Cricket Committee since 2012. He is a gem for the country and is definitely going to be an inspiration for all the present and future generation of cricketers.