In the past one year, Anil Kumble has ruled the headlines and not always for the right reasons. He was the Indian head coach until 2017 Champions Trophy before resigning and getting replaced by Ravi Shastri. However, a stalwart of the game, Kumble is one of India’s greatest match-winners and a fine ambassador of the game. Born on October 17, 1970, the former Indian captain turns 47 today.
Kumble, affectionately called ‘Jumbo’ by teammates, broke into the national side in 1990. He made his Test debut at Manchester in India’s tour of England. The match is best remembered for Sachin Tendulkar’s maiden Test hundred. A few months earlier, he made his ODI debut against Sri Lanka at Sharjah.
The right arm leg spinner was not a big turner of the ball, unlike his contemporaries Shane Warne and Muttiah Muralitharan but his strength lied in accuracy and intelligence. In 1999, at Feroz Shah Kotla, he repeated Jim Laker’s feat and became Test cricket’s second bowler to bag a perfect 10. Adding flavour to it, the feat came against arch-rivals Pakistan in a do-or-die encounter.
For many years, Kumble’s 6 for 12 against West Indies at Eden Gardens remained the best ODI figures by an Indian in ODIs. Two decades later, fellow state-mate Stuart Binny broke the feat. Kumble played a major role as India’s captain in the infamous 2007-08 tour of Australia. A few months prior, he slammed his maiden Test hundred at The Oval.
He retired in 2008 as India’s captain. He finished with 619 wickets, only behind Warne and Muralitharan. A year after Kumble’s retirement, India rose to the No.1 position in ICC Test Rankings. Later as coach, he achieved the same in 2016. Differences with captain Virat Kohli saw a closure to his tenure. But he remains one of the most prominent figures in international cricket.
Here are some special features on the Indian great:
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