Anil Kumble

Anil Kumble (Kannada: ಅನಿಲ್ ಕುಂಬ್ಳೆ)  pronunciation (help·info) (born 17 October 1970 inBangalore, Karnataka) is a former Indian cricketer and captain of the Indian Test cricket team. He is a right-arm leg spin (legbreak googly) bowler and a right-hand batsman. He is currently the leading wicket-taker for India in both Test and One Day International matches. At present he is the third highest wicket-taker in Test cricket and one of only three bowlers to have taken more than 600 Test wickets. Kumble has had success bowling with other spinners, notably Venkatapathy Raju and Rajesh Chauhan in the 1990s and Harbhajan Singh since 2000.

Kumble was appointed the captain of the Indian Test cricket team on 8 November 2007.^[1]His first assignment as captain was the three-test home series against Pakistan that India won 1-0. Then he led the Indian Test team on its tour to Australia for the 2007-08 four-test series of The Border-Gavaskar Trophy that India lost 1-2. Kumble succeeded his state team mate Rahul Dravid, who resigned as the captain in September 2007.^[2] Since his debut in international cricket on 25 April 1990, he has taken 619 Test wickets and 337 ODI wickets. Although often criticized as not a big turner of the ball,^[3] Kumble is the second highest wicket taker among leg spinners in Test cricket behind leg spinner Shane Warneof Australia and the third of all bowlers after Warne and off spinner Muttiah Muralitharan ofSri Lanka and has claimed 619 Test wickets. He is one of only two bowlers in the history of cricket to have taken all 10 wickets in a test innings, the other being Jim Laker of England.^[4] He was awarded the Padma Shri, India's 4th highest civilian honour, by theGovernment of India in 2005. After playing for India for 18 years, he announced his retirement on 2 November 2008. His last match was against Australia at the Feroz Shah Kotla in Delhi.

Personal life

Anil Kumble was born in Bangalore, Karnataka to KN Krishna Swamy and Saroja.^[5] His family, takes its name from Kumble village, situated in the South Canara, in Karnataka: ^[6]He is married to Chethana Ramatheertha.^[7] Anil has 3 children - daughter Aaruni (from Chethana's previous marriage), son Mayas and the youngest Svasti (daughter) ^[8][9]

Kumble began playing cricket on streets of Bangalore and joined a club called Young Cricketers when he was 13 years old. Kumble did his primary schooling at Holy Saint English School and his high schooling at National High School, Basavanagudi. He got his Pre-University College education from National College, Basavanagudi. Kumble graduated from Rashtreeya Vidyalaya College of Engineering in Mechanical Engineering in 1991-92. Kumble was studious by disposition. Prior to his selection for the England tour, he did exceedingly well in his academics, passing mechanical engineering with distinction in the top of his class. Two of his college team mates, M.P. Vivek and Rashid Mohsin went on to have scintillating but short lived first class careers. Kumble has a brother named Dinesh. He is nicknamed Jumbo not only because his deliveries, for a spinner, are "as fast as a Jumbo jet".,^[5] but also because his feet are quite big or Jumbo as observed by his team-mates.

[edit]Career

Anil Kumble of India in action against South Africa in 2008.

Kumble is a right-arm leg spinner with an unorthodox style, most famous for his flipper. He started his career as a medium pacer, which has given him a useful faster delivery. He relies more on accuracy, variations and bounce than spinning the ball.^[6] His unique bowling style can be attributed to matting pitches in Bangalore which assist top-spin and over-spin.^[10]

He made his first-class debut for Karnataka against Hyderabad in November 1989, taking 4 wickets and bagging a pair. He was selected for India Under-19s against Pakistan Under-19s, scoring 113 in the first test and 76 in the second. He made his ODI debut against Sri Lanka atSharjah in the Australasia Cup on 25 April 1990. He also made his Test debut in that year on India's tour of England in the second Test. It was when India toured South Africa in 1992 that he established himself as a quality international spinner, taking 8 wickets in the second Test. Later that year, when England toured India, he took 21 wickets in just 3 Test matches at an average of 19.8.

He took his first 50 Test wickets in just 10 Test matches, the fastest an Indian bowler had achieved the milestone. He went on to become the second fastest Indian bowler to reach 100 Test wickets (in 21 Test matches), after Erapalli Prasanna. On 27 November 1993, he took 6 wickets for 12 runs in an ODI against the West Indies at Calcutta, a new record for best bowling figures by an Indian, one that remains unbeaten till date.

His performance in ODI cricket peaked in 1996, the year in which the World Cup was held in Asia, when he took 61 ODI wickets at an average of 20.24 and an economy rate of 4.06.

Kumble is one of only two bowlers ever (the other being Jim Laker) to have taken all 10 wickets in a Test innings. Kumble achieved this against Pakistan in the second Test played in Delhi between 4 February and 8 February 1999, although by failing to dismiss Pakistan'sWaqar Younis in either innings, he missed out on the achievement of dismissing all 11 batsmen in a Test match. It has been said that once he had got 9 wickets his friend and teammate Javagal Srinath started bowling wide off stumps, and was called twice, so that Kumble could take the 10th.^{[citation needed]} The achievement was commemorated by naming a traffic circle in Bangalore after him.

On 6 October 2004, Kumble became only the third spinner in the history of Test cricket (after Shane Warne and Muttiah Muralitharan) and the second Indian bowler (after Kapil Dev) to capture 400 Test wickets. Reaching the mark took him 30 fewer Test matches than it took Kapil Dev, and 7 fewer than Warne. He is one of only 2 Indian bowlers (the other being Javagal Srinath) and one of only 3 spinners (the others being Muralitharan and Sanath Jayasuriya) to have taken over 300 ODI wickets. In the India-West Indies series of 2006, Kumble took 6-78 in the second innings of the final Test in Sabina Park, Jamaica, and bowled India to a historic series victory; it had been 35 years since a similar series victory. During the first innings of the match, Kumble scored 45 and became the second player in the history of the game (after Warne) to score 2000 runs and take over 500 Test wickets. Anil Kumble also holds the world record for most wickets leg before wicket (lbw)^[11]

Test career batting performance of Anil Kumble.

On 10 December 2004, Kumble became India's highest wicket taker when he trapped Mohammad Rafique of Bangladesh to surpass Kapil Dev's haul of 434 wickets. On 11 March 2006, he took his 500th Test wicket. On 11 June 2006, Kumble passedCourtney Walsh on 520 Test wickets to take 4th place. After returning to India from the 2007 Cricket World Cup, he announced his retirement from ODI Cricket on 30 March 2007.^[12]

Towards the end of his career, Anil Kumble came up with yet another potent weapon in his armory - a googly or the wrong 'un which was reportedly delivered with a more orthodox grip and worked upon, using a tennis ball during practice.^[13]

On 10 August 2007, Kumble scored his maiden century, with an innings of 110 not out against England to help them finish with 664. He took 118 Test matches to reach his maiden Test hundred, which is a record, beating Chaminda Vaas who had held this record previously with 96 Tests. It was also the only hundred by an Indian in the 3 Test series.^[14] He is the only Test cricketer to have taken all ten wickets in an innings and score a Test hundred in his career. A day after scoring his ton, Kumble dismissed Vaughan for his 900th International wicket and 563rd Test wicket, drawing him level with Glenn McGrath. Later he trapped Monty Panesar for an LBW to finish the innings and overtake McGrath in the list of all time wicket takers, only Muttiah Muralitharan and Shane Warne have more wickets.

He is one of the 4 bowlers, alongside Richard Hadlee, Shane Warne and Muttiah Muralitharan, and the only Indian bowler ever, to have taken 5 wickets in a Test innings more than 30 times. He also holds the world record for the largest number of caught-and-bowled dismissals in tests, 35 - which forms 5.65% of his total wickets. His ODI bowling average, which is above 30, is considered high compared to other great bowlers, and he is known to be a much better bowler in India than elsewhere. He is also one of 4 Indian bowlers to have conceded over 250 runs in a Test match, although he took 12 wickets in that match. He is known for bowling tirelessly, having bowled 72 overs in a Test innings once. He is also remembered for his tenacity in bowling even when injured, especially after an incident in a match against West Indies where, despite having his broken jaw being heavily taped, he came back to prise out the wicket of Brian Lara.

His Test batting average is acceptable for a lower order batsmen; however, his unconvincing running in ODIs, giving him a fairly ordinary average of around 10, has prevented him from becoming an all-rounder. His fielding is considered adequate and he usually fields on the boundary or at gully.

On 17 January 2008, in the third Test against Australia at WACA, Perth, Anil Kumble became the first Indian bowler and the third in the world to reach the milestone of 600 Test wickets. Kumble achieved the record just after the tea break when he had Andrew Symonds caught by Rahul Dravid at first slip. In a friendly gesture, Adam Gilchrist shook hands with Kumble and congratulated him. Kumble would go on to lead India to its first Test victory in Perth and deny Australia a record of 17 consecutive test victories. Kumble's 600 wickets came in 124 matches at an average of 28.68. Kumble has captured most number of wickets against Australia by an Indian bowler. He has taken 104 Australian scalps in 17 matches at an average of 27.5.

Kumble is the third bowler after Muttiah Muralitharan and Shane Warne to take 600 Test wickets. Paying tribute to Kumble on reaching this milestone, cricket analysts have provided some interesting insights to his bowling skills, specifically vis-a-vis Warne and Muralitharan. Sambit Bal, the editor of Cricinfo, writes:^[15]

"That he [Kumble] has been an unusual spinner has been said many times before. It has also been said, a trifle unfairly, that he is a unidimensional bowler. Palpably, he has lacked the turn of Warne and Murali, but his variety has been subtler, far more apparent to batsmen than to viewers. He has shown that not only turn and flight that can deceive the batsman but also the changes of length and pace. He has been a cultured practitioner of his unique craft and a master of nuances."

Columnist and former cricketer Peter Roebuck interestingly argues that in a bowling method that relies more on precision rather than big turns, Kumble is closer to fast bowler Glenn McGrath rather than his fellow spinners Warne and Muralitharan:^[16]

"Curiously, Kumble has little in common with his two great contemporaries, Shane Warne and Muttiah Muralitharan. They relied on excess, spinning the ball ferociously and able, by sleight of hand, to fool batsmen into playing at thin air. They created error by destroying hope. Kumble more closely resembles Glenn McGrath because he does not so much baffle batsmen as torture them with precisely-pitched deliveries. Like the Australian, he does not tear opponents apart, just works away methodically till the deed has been done. Apparently he is an engineer, but he belongs in the courts of law as an inquisitor."

During the 4th test against Australia at the Adelaide Oval on 25 January 2008, Kumble was only 13 runs short of his 2nd test hundred by scoring 87 runs off 205 balls, with 9 fours in India's first innings of 526. Only Sachin Tendulkar scored more than him, with 153 runs off 205 balls.

[edit]Retirement and IPL

Anil Kumble announced his retirement from: international Test cricket, first class cricket, and list A cricket appearances on the last day of the match on 2 November 2008 in the 3rd Test match against Australia at Feroz Shah Kotla cricket stadium at New Delhi, India. The decision, although on the cards, came as a surprise. Kumble injured the little finger of his left hand while attempting a catch off Matthew Hayden in Australia's first innings which rendered him unfit for the 4th and final test of the series against Australia. Kumble was finding it difficult to find his striking form and went wicketless in four consecutive innings for the first time in his career before the first innings of Australia in the third test of the series against Australia in which he managed three lower order wickets only. Mitchell Johnson of Australia was the last victim of Kumble. He declared the 2nd innings of India with only 6 overs of play left in the drawn match in order to have one last trundle. His figures were 4-0-14-0. The final ball of his test career was a low full toss which was decisively driven down the ground for four by the batsmanMatthew Hayden.

Kumble has been appointed to the athlete's commission of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), with his term starting on 1 January 2009.^[17]

On 21 November 2010, Kumble was elected President of the Karnataka State Cricket Association in a landslide victory, with statemates and former India teammates Venkatesh Prasad and Javagal Srinath elected as Vice-President and Secretary respectively.

[edit]IPL

He has also agreed to honour his contract with the Royal Challengers Bangalore franchise of the Indian Premier League after retirement. He was given a three year contract worth US$ 500,000 per year in the first round of bidding in 2008. His first season was unremarkable but in the second season he finished as the second leading wicket-taker and the team which he captained finished in second place.

On 18 April 2009 he took 5/5 runs against the defending champions Rajasthan Royals to send them to an emphatic 75-run defeat in the second match of the 2009 edition, played in South Africa.^[18][19] Despite this, he missed out on the Man of the match accolade to his close friend Rahul Dravid. After the departure of Kevin Pietersen for England's cricket commitments, Kumble was named captain of the Royal Challengers and on 1 May 2009 the former Indian skipper marshalled his team to a fine 8-run victory over the Kings XI Punjab, despite a hat-trick and a half-century from Man of the Match and losing captain Yuvraj Singh and 4 wickets for Yusuf Abdulla.^[20][21] His captaincy and performance was prominent as the Challengers were able to recover from four losses in their first six games to qualify for the semifinals as the third best team in the League table, and on 23 May 2009 his team defeated the Chennai Super Kings by six wickets to earn a spot in the final against the Deccan Chargers, who along with Bangalore were the two least successful teams in last year's edition.^[22] Despite a Man of the Match performance in the final, when he took 4/16 runs he was unable to prevent his team from succumbing to a six-run defeat.^[23] However, Kumble ended as the most successful spin bowler and the 2nd highest wicket-taker with 21 wickets at an economy rate of 5.86 runs per over behind Rudra Pratap Singh,^[24] and the team was subsequently able to qualify along with the Chargers and the Delhi Daredevils (who topped the preliminary League Table) for the 2009 Twenty20 Champions League. With Pietersen ruled out of the competition in order to recover from surgery on his Achilles tendon, Kumble captained his hometown team in the competition, and although defeats to the Cape Cobras and theVictorian Bushrangers ruled them out of qualification for the semi-finals, the Bangalore-born spinner has since become the full-time captain of the Royal Challengers. The 2009-10 season saw Kumble lead the team to the semi-finals albeit after a rather inconsistent campaign which saw them end up with seven wins and seven losses as they finished 4th in the league table. After being forced to play their semi-finals at theDY Patil Stadium following the bomb blasts near their home stadium in Bangalore, the Royal Challengers lost their semi-final to the Mumbai Indians, who topped the group phase. But on 24 April 2010, Kumble snagged 4 wickets for 16 runs to lead the team into the Champions' League as third-place finishers, avenging their loss to the Deccan Chargers in last season's final. His man-of-the-match exploits ensured that he finished with 17 wickets for the tournament. Kumble has recently announced his decision to quit IPL as well. The reason stated by him was since he was elected as the President of Karnataka State Cricket Association it wasn't wise on his part to play in the team as that would create conflict of interests. But he has agreed to serve Bangalore Royal Challengers as the chief mentor. Later on the team owner Vijay Mallaya told reporters in Bangalore that henceforth all the team decisions would be handled by Kumble and he would abide by it, he also stated that Kumble has given his full support and will continue to do so to the team.

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