Anil Kumble made light work of the infamous 'head master' tag

At an event in New Delhi, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella talked about his book ‘Hit Refresh’ with Indian legendary former cricketer Anil Kumble. Both the giants of their respective fields spoke about the ‘hit refresh’ moments that have transformed their careers and lives. Both also spoke about leadership lessons and how it is important to bring out the best in an individual.

Kumble gave much emphasis on his childhood learnings which helped him become a successful cricketer. Nadella, who is a fan of cricket, asked a few questions to the former Indian head coach. Kumble hardly stepped into public events after parting ways with Indian skipper Virat Kohli and stepping down from the role of team India’s head coach.

The 47-year-old also took a jibe at certain people who tagged him with the term ‘headmaster’. “Self-belief comes from values you inculcate…my grandfather was a headmaster. That term kept coming back to me later in life. Some of you here will understand,” Kumble said.

The struggle and the relief

Kumble also shed light on his struggling days. He said that the Australia tour in 2003-04, when India managed to draw the four-Test series, was the time he faced the challenge of reinventing himself. “As a cricketer, you have to hit refresh literally at the end of the every series. Challenges from one series to another are different. But I would like to mention the Australia tour in 2003-04 when I was at the crossroads of my career. I was competing for a place in the eleven (with Harbhajan Singh). People had started talking about my retirement as I was in my 30s. I got an opportunity in the Adelaide Test which we famously won.”

He further went on to say “I was expensive on day one but came back to take a five- wicket haul. I understood the need of doing something different. So I started bowling a different type of googly, something I had learnt during my tennis ball days. That is when I realised I can make subtle changes to improve my game.”