Anil Kumble- India's Retiring Captain
Kumble was not Merely a Great Bowler - He was a Great Inspiration
It had been expected for some weeks - but when Anil Kumble's announced at the end of today's Test match at the Feroze Shah stadium in Delhi that he was retiring from Test cricket, it allowed him to say Farewell to Cricket on his own terms, while he was still at the top of his game.
At the time of his retirement he was captain of India's national cricket team as well as the most successful bowler India's cricket history - holder of the current record for the most number of wickets (619 and 337 respectively) taken by an Indian in both Test and One Day cricket. One of only three bowlers to have taken more than 600 Test wickets (the others being Australia's Shane Warne and Sri Lanka's Muttiah Muralidaran), Kumble made his test debut for India against England on 25 April 1990 and over the past 18 years developed into one of the most successful spin bowlers in Test cricket. He is one of only two bowlers (the other being Jim Laker of England) to have taken all ten wickets in an innings of a Test match - a feat he accomplished against Pakistan in February 1999.
619 Wickets
Born on 17 October 1970 in Bangalore in India's Karnataka state, Kumble was always a studious type - and has a degree in Engineering from Rashtreeya College of Engineering. A right-arm leg spin bowler and a right-hand batsman, he played a total of 132 Test matches and 271 One Day Internationals for India. An undemonstrative and modest player, Kumble has a reputation for modesty and quiet confidence - the epitome of a gentleman playing a gentleman's game.
Retirement
At the age of 38 years, Kumble has finally decided to call it a day. And it is not only for his wicket taking that fans will remember him. Memories remain of the courageous way he walked out of the dressing room in Antigua in 2002 with his jaw bandaged, after it had been fractured while he was batting - and then proceeded to bowl a stirring spell during which he picked up Brian Lara's wicket. Fans will also remember what to him must have been achievement of his ultimate ambition - a test century against England at the Oval in August 2007.
Kumble was a quiet achiever, not given to raucous and flamboyant exhibitions on the field - but he inspired a generation of young cricketers and his own team mates by his example and efforts.
In 1995 he won an Arjuna Award - given by the Government of India to recognise outstanding achievement in national sports. In 2005 he was awarded the Padma Shri - an award given by the Government of India to Indian citizens to recognize their distinguished contribution in various spheres of achievement. Less than a month after his 37th birthday, he received the ultimate honour when he was named just before the home series against Pakistan as India's Test captain, a role he successfully fulfilled for over a year.
His retirement brings to an end the quietly spectacular career of a man who had , in the words of cricket writer Suresh Menon, "great skill and a large heart" - a man whose talent, achievements and conduct on the field the world of cricket can salute with respect.
Acknowledgements to Suresh Menon of cricinfo
Anil Kumble
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