Anil Kumble

Anil Kumble

Source: [1], 22 March 2006

Anil Kumble (pronounced COOM-blay) (born 17 October, 1970 in Bangalore, Karnataka) is an Indian cricketer and has been a member of the Indian cricket team since 1990. Kumble as he is popularly known has studied Mechanical Engineering at R.V. College of Engineering. Kumble whose family is of Kannada origin takes his name from Kumbla village situated in Kasargod district of Kerala, close to Karnataka border. His paternal grandfather hailed from this village. His maternal family hails from Karnataka. Kumble is currently the highest wicket-taker for India in one-day internationals and Test matches, having taken over 500 Test wickets and 300 ODI wickets. Among leg spinners from all countries, only Shane Warne has taken more Test wickets.

Kumble is a right arm leg spinner. He has an unorthodox style of bowling and is most famous for his googly. He started his career as a medium pacer; this has given him a useful faster delivery. He made his ODI debut against Sri Lanka at Sharjah in the Australasia Cup on April 25, 1990. He also made his Test debut in that year in 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 making him the only Indian bowler to do so. He went on to become the second fastest Indian bowler to reach 100 Test wickets (in 21 Test matches) after Erapalli Prasanna. On November 27, 1993, he took 6 wickets for 12 runs in a ODI against the West Indies at Calcutta, a new record for best bowling figures by an Indian, a record which has remained unbeaten for 10 years.

His performance in ODI cricket peaked in 1996, the year in which the World Cup was held in Asia, 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(England) to have taken all 10 wickets in a Test innings. Kumble achieved this against Pakistan in the second Test played in New Delhi, India between 4 February and 8 February 1999, although by failing to dismiss Pakistani quick Waqar 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 got 9 wickets; his friend and teammate Javagal Srinath tried not to take a wicket so Kumble could take 10th. This achievement was commemorated by naming a traffic circle in Bangalore after Anil Kumble.

On 6 October, 2004, Anil Kumble became only the third spinner in the history of Test cricket (after Shane Warne and Muttiah Muralitharan) and second Indian bowler (after Kapil Dev) to capture 400 Test wickets. He took 30 fewer Test matches than Kapil Dev to reach the mark. He also took 7 fewer Tests than Shane Warne to reach the mark. He is one of only 2 Indian bowlers (the other being Javagal Srinath) and one of only 2 spinners (the other being Muralitharan) to have taken over 300 ODI wickets. In the India - West Indies series of summer 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 coming after 35 years of a similar series victory. During the first innings of the match, Kumble scored 45 and became the second player (after Shane Warne) in the history of the game to score 2000 runs and take over 500 test wickets.

On December 10, 2004, Anil 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 June 11 2006, Kumble passed Courtney Walsh with 520 Test wickets to take 4th place.

He is also one of the 4 bowlers (Richard Hadlee, and the other two again being spinners Shane Warne and Muttiah Muralitharan) and the only Indian bowler ever to have taken 5 wickets in a Test innings 31 times. He has also taken 10 wickets in a match 8 times. He also holds the world record for the most number of caught and bowled dismissals in a Test at 25 c&b wickets. Both his Test bowling average and his ODI bowling average which is above 30 are considered to be high compared to other great bowlers. He is known to be a much better bowler when bowling in India compared to when bowling outside India. 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 going on bowling tirelessly, once having bowled 72 overs in a Test innings. 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, came back to bowl and prize out the wicket of Brian Lara.

His Test batting average is not bad for a lower order batsmen, however his unconvincing running in ODIs, leading to a fairly ordinary average of around 10, has stopped him from becoming a genuine cricketing all-rounder. His fielding is decent but not outstanding, usually on the boundary or in the position of gully.

Kumble has largely evaded the general public's eye throughout his career, but his work for the Indian cricket team is invaluable. He is perhaps India's best current spinner in a side which is starting to seriously consider fast bowling as a viable attacking option.

Anil Kumble has earned the moniker "Jumbo", because his deliveries, for a spinner, travel at such a high speed, much to be like a Jumbo jet. In 2005, he was awarded the Padma Shri, a civilian award from the Government of India.

External links

• Cricket Web Profiles: Anil Kumble
• Cricinfo player profile : Anil Kumble
• The Score board of the second Test in Delhi - the ten wicket haul for Kumble
• "Anil Kumble joins elite 400 club" - Mid Day article dated 6 October 2004
• "India's greatest bowler" - Cricinfo.com article dated 6 October 2004
• Most wickets in Test cricket Cricinfo.com (updated after each match)
• Most 5 wickets in an innings in Test matches - Cricinfo.com (updated after each match)
• ODI Career Bowling - Most Wickets - Cricinfo.com updated after each match

List of Best Bowling Performances in a Test Innings