Anil Kumble

India|Bowler
Anil Kumble
INTL CAREER: 1990 - 2008
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Full Name

Anil Kumble

Born

October 17, 1970, Bangalore, Karnataka

Age

53y 154d

Batting Style

Right hand Bat

Bowling Style

Legbreak Googly

Playing Role

Bowler

No bowler won India more Test matches than Anil Kumble, and there probably hasn't been a harder trier either. Like the great tall wristspinners Bill O'Reilly and his own idol Bhagwath Chandrasekhar, Kumble traded the legspinner's proverbial yo-yo for a spear: the ball hacked through the air rather than hanging in it, and came off the pitch with a kick rather than a kink. The method provided him stunning success, particularly on Indian soil, where his deliveries burst like packets of water upon the feeblest hint of a crack.

Kumble's fortitude was proved in Antigua in 2002, when he bandaged his fractured jaw to deliver a stirring spell. His ability to learn and refine his craft was highlighted in the mid-2000s when, after a decade of middling away performances, he influenced memorable wins in Headingley, Adelaide, Multan and Kingston, using an improved googly, bigger sidespin, and more variation in flight and on the crease.

In a brilliant though often downplayed career, Kumble claimed virtually every Indian record. In 1999 in Delhi he swallowed all ten wickets in an innings against Pakistan. In December 2001, on home turf in Bangalore, he became India's first spinner to take 300 Test wickets. A year later, almost to the day, he became the first to do so in one-dayers. In August 2007 at The Oval he went past Glenn McGrath's 563 wickets and chalked up what, judging by the pure ecstasy of his reaction and the dressing room's, was perhaps his most cherished feat of all - a Test century that had been 17 years and 118 matches in the coming. In January 2008 he broke the 600-wicket barrier.

Less than a month after his 37th birthday, he was named India's Test captain for the 2007-08 home series against Pakistan. He went on to win the series, the first home triumph against Pakistan in 27 years, before playing a big role in holding the side together during the controversial tour of Australia; he was also India's leading wicket-taker with 20 in the four Tests there.

His form slipped thereafter and there were calls for him to quit following a wicketless performance in the Bangalore Test against Australia in October 2008. A shoulder injury added fuel to the fire and an upset Kumble reacted sharply, saying he had it in him to continue for a while longer. However, he changed his mind during the Delhi Test and announced his retirement, fittingly at his favourite venue. He finished his career as the third-highest Test wicket-taker (619), behind his great contemporaries Muthiah Muralidaran and Shane Warne.

In 2010 he was elected president of the Karnataka State Cricket Association and served a three-year term in that capacity. In 2016, he was appointed head coach of India, but despite achieving a No. 1 ranking in Tests, Kumble was forced to step down after it emerged that India captain Virat Kohli had told BCCI officials that some players were uncomfortable with Kumble's "intimidating" style of man management.

Anil Kumble Career Stats

Bowling

FormatMatInnsBallsRunsWktsBBIBBMAveEconSR4w5w10w
Tests132236408501835561910/7414/14929.652.6965.931358
ODIs27126514496104123376/126/1230.894.3043.0820
FC244-6693129347113610/74-25.832.6358.9-7219
List A380-20247141785146/126/1227.584.2039.31430
T20s545412451389575/55/524.366.6921.8210

Batting & Fielding

FormatMatInnsNORunsHSAveBFSR100s50s4s6sCtSt
Tests132173322506110*17.77645538.82153029600
ODIs271136479382610.53153661.0600576850
FC244318615572154*21.68--717--1200
List A38020373145630*11.20--00--1220
T20s54211746811.505977.960030150
Anil Kumble

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Test
ODI

Recent Matches of Anil Kumble

MatchBatBowlDateGroundFormat
India vs New Zealand--0/1307-Nov-2010KowloonOTHEROD
India vs Pakistan1*0/1906-Nov-2010KowloonOTHEROD
RCB vs CSK1*0/3824-Sep-2010DurbanT20
RCB vs LIONS--1/1321-Sep-2010JohannesburgT20
RCB vs MI--0/4519-Sep-2010DurbanT20

Videos of Anil Kumble

Photos of Anil Kumble

[L to r} Mark Boucher, Yuvraj Singh, Graeme Smith and Anil Kumble at an SA20 launch event
Anil Kumble and Jonny Bairstow have a chat before the start of the game
Liam Livingstone, Anil Kumble and Mayank Agarwal have a look at the pitch
Punjab Kings coach Anil Kumble inspects the pitch
Mayank Agarwal and Anil Kumble take a close look at the pitch
Punjab Kings' captain Mayank Agarwal and head coach Anil Kumble in conversation ahead of their IPL 2022 season opener