The recently concluded Test match at Delhi between India and Australia will be remembered for the retirement of Anil “Jumbo” Kumble, one of India’s greatest cricketers, it’s leading wicket taker as well as # 3 on the all time list. It is amazing that for a long time, the “300 club” had a single spinner, Lance Gibbs, and the three leading wicket takers in the world now are all spinners. Another statistic, his 619 wickets in 132 Tests with a strike rate of 4.69 wkts/test is pretty decent for a spinner and far superior to Kapil Dev’s 434 wickets in 131 Tests at a rate of 3.31 wkts/test.

From the time he made his debut as a shy but determined young man to his exit as India’s captain, there was one quality that defined Kumble; Tenacity. He always seemed to be at the batsman’s throat, testing and probing him before luring him to his doom. He also ushered in a unique style of bowling, ie. ”spin bowling without spinning / turning the ball” !! This is not intended to be wholly sarcastic, but is something I found really frustrating when watching a match, especially when Sachin Tendulkar or another part time bowler could get amazing turn from the pitch whereas Kumble toiled away unsuccessfully, relying more on his millimetric accuracy and the variable bounce he obtained from the pitch.

In fact, even in the recent Delhi Test for example, Sehwag bowled quite well, and for Kumble, the sight of his opening batsman getting 5 wickets by bowling spin was probably the straw that finally broke the camel’s back.

However, his overall record speaks for itself. Farewell, Jumbo, you have served Indian cricket very well.