Anil Kumble - India’s greatest match-winner

The headline might be contested for a good-meaning debate. There have been many well-deserving contestants for the title, but think deeply - has anyone brought India the semblance of authenticity on a cricket field like a fierce Anil Kumble spell? 

When India were dazzled by a Sachin Tendulkar century, it was invariably Kumble who could take the opposition by its horns.

The picture of him emerging from the Antigua pavilion with a bandaged face to fight it out in the middle could never be recreated. When India were down and out in Australia and were at the receiving end of perhaps the worst umpiring mishaps the sport has ever seen, he led the side from the front to put the ball at the rightful place, quite literally. When the Indian team were accused of racism allegations, Kumble dominantly took a stance to ensure the Aussie hypocrisy was exposed.

Anil Kumble was many things. He was an eternal struggler to gain the respect he deserved. He had to fight till the end to prove he was as good as the numbers suggested. 

He had to take on challenging roles and coaching assignments, but never for a moment did he become subservient to the whims and fancies of the dominant dressing-room figures. It cost him a lot, but like in true Anil Kumble style, he stayed his own man.

Kumble’s greatest moment of glory came in Delhi when he picked a 10-wicket haul against Pakistan. For a spinner who always had to fight against pre-conceived notions typically associated with faster leg-spinners, it was nothing but a mirror to the world. 

The idea that Kumble didn’t spin the ball well enough was nipped in the bud, and at the Feroz Shah Kotla, the world bore witness to a spinner who could continue to rewrite India’s dominance in World cricket.

“Kumble was a super competitor; it was his brain he thought about the game. Even though he is a gentleman and he is quiet, he is a super competitor. He is hungry, love calling him a friend. Always did so well,” the great Shane Warne once said. 

After the world saw a renaissance of leg-spin bowling in the early 1990s, with Warne’s arrival on the scene, Kumble added a perfect antidote. In two completely different conditions, in two different styles, Kumble and Warne provided the sport with a multitude of stories in a true blue manner. 

While Warne was silky, focusing on angle, turn, and deception, for Kumble, it was the physical part that spoke. There was no finesse, but if you could bring in over 600 Test wickets with that, who cares?

The great man turns 53 today.