Anil Kumble: Inspiration, leader, legend

‘Subtlety’ is the word that best defines an exponent of the art of spin bowling. Beneath the innocuous action lies a crafty, cunning mind that only seeks to ensnare the batsman in its web of deceit.

A short bound, a tiny jump in the air, a flick of the finger (or, in some cases, a lithe movement of the wrist) and the ball, hitherto a friendly object, lands on the deck and spins viciously, bamboozling the willow wielder into a false stroke. By the time he realizes it, he’s already walking back to the pavilion.

The art of leg spin in India was in danger of dying out upon the exit of the great BS Chandrasekhar and the wily Laxman Sivaramakrishnan. Stocks in this department were running low, until the arrival of a six-foot Bangalorean lad changed the landscape – forever.

Anil Kumble, the fulcrum of the Indian spin attack for much of the nineties, and one of the nicest people to have represented the game for nearly two decades, put his hand up when the call went out for a leg-spinner to ply his trade for the national side.

Nothing about his appearance was remarkable in those days – he had the look of a typical nerd, with round-rimmed spectacles perched squarely on his nose. He didn’t even start off as a spinner in the first place; he would bowl medium pace and was a handy batsman too.

Like most youngsters of his age, he had his own cricketing idols in Chandrasekhar and the Australian leg-break bowler Bill O’Reilly. He tried to model his action on them, and on the matting wickets that Bangalore had to offer, he developed a unique method of sending the ball down at the other end. And because those pitches favoured top-spin as well as over-spin, Kumble became a master of both.

A mechanical engineer by degree, the bespectacled Anil finished his exams while on tour to England in 1990. When Kapil Dev was bowling at Old Trafford, the newbie spinner, on the field as a substitute, let the ball through his legs in a classic display of poor fielding. It was enough to rankle the veteran seamer, who promptly fired a verbal volley at the youngster, causing him to break down in the dressing room later.

However, the experience taught Kumble one thing – the importance of being focused on the game. He re-dedicated himself to becoming one of the key bowlers in the side, working hard on his craft, and bringing in a lot more variety in his bowling armour.

His hard work paid off handsomely. In the South African safari of 1992, he established himself as a champion tweaker. But it was the Hero Cup final of 1993 that made the world sit up and take notice as Anil took out six Windies batsmen on a wearing Kolkata pitch. His figures of 6/12 still remain the best by an Indian bowler in ODI cricket.

Anil also spent a season playing county cricket for Northamptonshire in 1995, becoming the only bowler to pick up over a hundred wickets at the time. The onus was to prepare for the English tour later that year; he wanted to get used to the conditions on offer. His performances on the county circuit, though, prompted the Bible of Cricket – Wisden – to anoint him as one of their five Cricketers of the Year in 1996.

For all his performances, though, the moustached bowler was unable to steer his side to victory in the World Cup in 1996. Despite playing on one of his favourite surfaces – Eden Gardens – Kumble was taken for runs by Sri Lanka’s Aravinda de Silva, and repeated crowd disturbance in India’s innings forced the officials to award the game to the Emerald Isle nation.

Three years later, Anil would replicate England off-spinner Jim Laker’s feat of getting a perfect 10 in a single Test innings. Humble and modest to the core, he remarked in an interview that these things happened once in a lifetime – a statement that drew much praise from all quarters.

The arrival of the twenty-first century saw Jumbo’s (called so because of his faster deliveries as well as his large feet) fighting qualities on full display for the entire world to see. Strapped around his lower jaw was a tightly-strung bandage; he had been struck by a Mervyn Dillon delivery while batting at Antigua in 2002. He went on to send down 14 overs, taking out Brian Lara, before heeding medical advice and leaving the field.

In 2007, having scored that long elusive Test hundred, retiring from ODI cricket, and mere days after celebrating his 37th birthday, the Bangalorean received the ultimate honour of Test captaincy after Dravid resigned. He led from the front, winning the home series against Pakistan, and it was his cool head that soothed the frayed nerves in the dressing room during the infamous Monkeygate scandal of 2008.

His stoic leadership, reminiscent of former Aussie skipper Bill Woodfull, rubbed off on his teammates, and they repaid their skipper’s faith in full by demolishing the home team at Perth in the next game. The story of how Virender Sehwag persuaded the veteran to let Ishant Sharma have an extended spell is now part of cricketing folklore.

In the same game, Kumble picked up his 600th victim in Test matches, joining fellow tweakers Muralitharan and Warne on the list. It re-affirmed his status as one of the greatest bowlers in the game.

But all good things come to an end, and for Anil, it was to be the third game of the 2008 return series against Australia. He injured the webbing on his bowling hand, and took it as a sign that his time had come. The elder statesman of the team was chaired off the field by his teammates, and an era of leg spin had come to an end.

There were more than a few tears shed that day.

Anil returned to action in the IPL, turning out for the Royal Challengers. After a disastrous first season, he took over the reins as skipper, and marshalled his young troops to the final for the first time. He would lead them to the semi-finals in 2010 as well, before hanging up his boots in 2012. Since then, he has gone on to be chief mentor for the Challengers, before taking up a similar post for the Mumbai Indians in 2013, and saw the blue brigade win both the IPL and Champions League titles.

Reams have been written of his immense contribution with the ball, but Kumble is such an unassuming, shy chap that people seldom remember his batting heroics along with his good friend Javagal Srinath against Australia in the Titan Cup. They brought the side back from the depths of despair with their clever little stand – their mothers cheering them on from the sidelines – and secured the unlikely win.

His innings of 88 against South Africa, sharing in a huge stand with Mohammad Azharuddin, also goes unnoticed by most; such is the dignity and humility with which the man carries himself.

In his current role as president of the KSCA, he has a fine supporting cast in place, with Srinath and Venkatesh Prasad joining him as secretary and vice-president, respectively. He also wears other hats in the administration area of the game, such as being chairman of the ICC Cricket Committee, and serving on the athlete’s commission of the World Anti Doping Agency (WADA).

Today, as the Arjuna & Padma Shri awardee celebrates his 43rd birthday, he remains the same calm, dignified and affable personality as he was on the field.

Happy Birthday, Jumbo!