|
Anil Radhakrishna Kumble is a former international cricketer and captain of the Indian cricket team. A right-arm leg spin bowler, he took 619 wickets in Test cricket and remains the third-highest wicket taker—only behind Muttiah Muralitharan and Shane Warne—as of 2012. Unlike his contemporaries, Kumble was not a big turner of the ball, rather relied much on pace and accuracy. His ability to make the ball bounce with subtle variations in pace made him a tough bowler to face for the batsmen; thus earning him the sobriquet "Jumbo". Kumble was selected as the Indian Cricket Cricketer of the Year in 1993 and one of the Wisden Cricketers of the Year three years later.
Born in Bangalore, 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 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 the ten batsmen in a Test match innings. In the event he became the second player to achieve this feat after Jim Laker of England.
|
