Mountain View

Overview

Anil Kumble (About this sound pronunciation  born 17 October 1970) is an Indian former cricketer and a former captain of Tests and ODIs, who played Tests and ODIs for 18 years. A right-arm leg spin (leg break googly) bowler, he took 619 wickets in Test cricket and remains the third-highest wicket taker of all time (as of 2018, behind Muttiah Muralitharan and Shane Warne). Unlike his contemporaries, Kumble was not a big turner of the ball, but relied primarily on pace, bounce, and accuracy. He was nicknamed “Jumbo“. Kumble was selected as the Cricketer of the Year in 1993 Indian Cricket, and one of the Wisden Cricketers of the Year three years later.

Born in Bengaluru, Karnataka, Kumble developed an early interest in cricket as he grew up watching players like B. S. Chandrasekhar before becoming a full-fledged cricketer. He made his First-class debut at the age of 19 while representing Karnataka. Soon he was picked up for the Austral-Asia Cup in 1990 before making his Test debut against England later that year. Since then he has represented the Indian Test team on more than 132 Test matches and was responsible for many of India’s victories. Kumble became a part of the regular ODI team during the early 1990s and held some of the best performances during this time; which included his six for 12 (six wickets for 12 runs) against the West Indies. The year 1996 proved to very successful for him as he was selected for the World Cup and emerged out as the most successful bowler of the tournament; he played seven matches and captured 15 wickets at an average of 18.73. In 1999 while playing against Pakistan, Kumble dismissed all ten batsmen in a Test match innings, joining Englands Jim Laker as the only players to achieve the feat.

Kumble was awarded the Padma Shri, India’s fourth highest civilian honour in 2005. After having played for 18 years, he announced his retirement from international cricket in November 2008. In October 2012, Kumble was appointed the chairman of International Cricket Council (ICC)’s cricket committee.

Between 2012 and 2015, Kumble held positions as a chief mentor for the teams Royal Challengers Bangalore and Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League. He was also a former head coach of the Indian cricket team as well. In February 2015, he became the fourth Indian cricketer to be inducted into ICC Hall of Fame.

Personal life

Career

Early domestic career and international debut

Kumble made his first-class debut for Karnataka against Hyderabad on 30 November 1989, taking 4 wickets and bagging a pair. He was then 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 at Sharjah in the Austral-Asia Cup on 25 April 1990. He played one more game in the series against Pakistan and ended up picking two wickets. His Test debut came in the same year when India toured England for a three-test series. It was the second test of the series played at Manchester and he picked up 3 wickets conceding 105 runs in the first innings and went wicket-less in the second innings of the match which resulted in a draw. He did not play any Tests until 1992. Kumble picked up 13/138 in Irani Trophy against Delhi for Rest of India which ensured the latter’s victory. This performance helped him earn a place in the Indian side that toured South Africa and Zimbabwe. It was during the 1992 Indian tour of South Africa that he established himself as a quality spinner, taking eight wickets in the second Test. All in all he took 18 wickets at an average of 25.94 and with an economy rate of 1.84 in the four test series. Later that year, when England toured India, Kumble took 21 wickets in three Tests at an average of 19.8. He picked up seven wickets for 165 runs in the third Test of the series played at Bombay as India went on to win the match by an innings and 15 runs. He was adjudged man of the match for his performance.

Kumble took his first 50 Test wickets in 10 matches; the record remained the fastest by an Indian bowler till Ravichandran Ashwin surpassed him achieving the feat in nine matches. His 100 Test wickets in 21 Test matches, the second fastest by an Indian bowler after Erapalli Prasanna (who took 100 wickets in 20 matches). On 27 November 1993, he took six wickets for 12 runs in an ODI against the West Indies at Eden Gardens, Calcutta in the final of the Hero Cup, which was an Indian record for very long time. This record was broken by Stuart Binny on 17 June 2014 against Bangladesh. In January 1994, when Sri Lanka toured India, Kumble picked up his first 10 wicket haul in his 14th match which ensured India’s victory by an innings and 119 runs. He picked up 11 wickets for 128 runs in the match.

In 1995 English cricket season Kumble played for Northamptonshire and was the leading wicket taker with 105 wickets at the average of 20.40. He was the only bowler to take more than 100 wickets during that season. His best performance came against Hampshire in a drawn match in County Championship, picking up 13 wickets for 192 runs. This performance in the English county cricket was noted by Wisden as they named him one of their five Cricketers of the Year in 1996.

1996 World Cup

Style and technique

Kumble is a right-arm leg spinner (legbreak googly) with an unorthodox style, most famous for his flipper. and a right-hand batsman He started his career as a fast bowler, which gave him a useful faster delivery. His unique bowling style can be attributed to matting pitches in Bangalore which assist top-spin and over-spin.

Kumble 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. 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 and took the wicket of Brian Lara.

Kumble relies more on accuracy, variations and bounce rather than spinning the ball.Sambit Bal, the editor of Cricinfo, wrote, “That he 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.”

As a captain and coach, he is a firm supporter of DRS.

Involvement in cricket associations

Coaching career

On 24 June 2016 he was appointed as the head coach of the Indian Cricket Team by BCCI for a period of one year but resigned due to untenable differences with the captain as stated by him. Anil Kumble’s term of one year will end after the 2017 ICC Champions Trophy. The chief of COA, Vinod Rai, announced on 12 June 2017 that Anil Kumble will continue as the coach of the India Cricket Team for the upcoming West Indies tour of India. After a recent defeat in ICC CHAMPIONS TROPHY FINAL 2017 vs Pakistan he stepped down as the head coach of Indian Cricket Team on 20 June 2017 after a duration of less than 1 year.

Kumbles first series as coach was against the West Indies in July where India played four Test matches, winning 2-0. Later India beat New Zealand 3-0 in the Test series, his second consecutive Test series win as a coach. India also defeated England 4-0 in the five Test series in November-December and stretched their winning streak to three test series victory under Kumble as coach. Indias fourth Test series win came against Bangladesh, India went on to dominate on their home soil which marked as Indias 19-match unbeaten record in Tests. During the four-match Test series against Australia in January; India lost the first match but made a sensational comeback, beating the Australians in the last two Tests, winning the series 2-1. India also registered two one-day series wins under Kumbles tenure, as India defeated New Zealand in a five one-day match series 3-2, followed by a 2-1 win over England in a three match series.

Twitter statement by Kumble on 20 June 2017 – “I am honoured by the confidence reposed in me by the CAC, in asking me to continue as Head Coach. The credit for the achievements of the last one year goes to the Captain, the entire team, coaching and support staff. Post this intimation, I was informed for the first time yesterday by the BCCI that the Captain had reservations with my ‘style’ and about my continuing as the Head Coach. I was surprised since I have always respected the role boundaries between Captain and Coach. Though the BCCI attempted to resolve the misunderstandings between the Captain and me, it was apparent that the partnership was untenable, and I therefore believe it is best for me to move on. Professionalism, discipline, commitment, honesty, complementary skills and diverse views are the key traits I bring to the table. These need to be valued for the partnership to be effective. I see the Coach’s role akin to ‘holding a mirror’ to drive self-improvement in the team’s interest. In light of these ‘reservations’ I believe it is best I hand over this responsibility to whomever the CAC and BCCI deem fit. Let me reiterate that it has been an absolute privilege to have served as Head Coach for the last one year. I thank the CAC, BCCI, CoA and all concerned. I also wish to thank the innumerable followers and fans of Indian cricket for their continued support. I will remain a well-wisher of the great cricketing tradition of my country forever.”

Awards and honours

Test wicket milestones

Wicket Batsman Country Dismissal Venue Year
1st Allan Lamb  England Caught Sanjay Manjrekar Manchester 1990
50th David Houghton  Zimbabwe Caught Praveen Amre Delhi 1993
100th Martin Crowe  New Zealand Caught Sachin Tendulkar Bangalore 1995
150th Sherwin Campbell  West Indies Bowled Kingston, Jamaica 1997
200th Pommie Mbangwa  Zimbabwe Stumped, Nayan Mongia Harare 1998
250th Dion Nash  New Zealand Bowled Kanpur 1999
300th Matthew Hoggard  England Leg Before Wicket Bangalore 2001
350th Jacob Oram  New Zealand Caught Rahul Dravid Ahmedabad 2003
400th Simon Katich  Australia Bowled Bangalore 2004
450th Mohammad Sami  Pakistan Leg Before Wicket Kolkata 2005
500th Stephen Harmison  England Stumped Mahendra Singh Dhoni Mohali 2006
550th Khaled Mashud  Bangladesh Caught Mahendra Singh Dhoni Dhaka 2007
600th Andrew Symonds  Australia Caught Rahul Dravid Perth 2008
619th Mitchell Johnson  Australia Caught and bowled Delhi 2008
Source: Cricinfo

Captaincy record

Venue of Match Matches Won Lost Tie Draw Notes
At Home Venues (In India) 7 1 1 0 5
At Away Venues 7 2 4 0 1
Total Record 14 3 5 0 6

Records

Endorsements

International record