A fighter all the way
The 38-year-old leg-spinner, Test cricket’s third highest wicket-taker with 619 scalps, quit after the drawn third Test against Australia at his favourite Feroz Shah Kotla Ground here.
During the match, his 132nd Test, Kumble returned to bowl after having 11 stitches on a deep cut in his left hand, an act of selflessness and single-minded determination which has been the hallmark of his eventful career.
He said he had decided to quit at the end of the series but brought forward the move once he realised he would not be fit for the final Test starting on Thursday.
“He will go down as one of the greats of modern cricket, not only Indian cricket,” Australia captain Ricky Ponting said. “His record speaks for itself.”
Unlike Sachin Tendulkar and Mahendra Singh Dhoni, pin-ups in cricket-mad India, Kumble has always maintained a low profile despite his match-winning exploits since his debut as a 19-year-old in 1990.
Nicknamed ‘Jumbo’ for his big heart and the way his deliveries take off like a jumbo jet, Kumble has been the side’s pivot for almost two decades as India began dominating home matches on slow pitches around him.
He helped fashion memorable Test victories in England, West Indies, Pakistan and Australia, where he took 24 wickets in three Tests on the 2003-04 tour, a four-Test series which India famously squared 1-1.
As a bowler, Kumble was tireless and made up for his lack of spin with subtle variations and metronomic precision.
In 1999, he became only the second bowler in Tests after England off-spinner Jim Laker to claim all 10 wickets in an innings when bowled India to victory over old rivals Pakistan in Delhi.
Last year he struck a maiden Test hundred in the drawn third and final Test against England at The Oval, the only hundred by an Indian during the 1-0 series win.
A qualified engineer, Kumble has also taken 337 wickets from 271 One-day Internationals and quit the shorter form last year.
He finished behind only Sri Lankan Muttiah Muralitharan and retired Australian Shane Warne in the Test wicket-taker’s list after coming back from a career-threatening shoulder injury in 2001 that required surgery.
He struggled this year with both fitness and form, taking 28 wickets in 10 Tests at a high average of 50.57.
Kumble missed the second Test in Mohali with a shoulder injury where his replacement, leg-spinner Amit Mishra, took seven wickets on his debut as India won by 320 runs. It triggered a debate about whether it was time for Kumble to be replaced.
Kumble accepted captaincy at a particularly difficult period in Indian cricket last November after Rahul Dravid abruptly quit the post and, typical of the man, held the team together during an acrimonious Test tour of Australia.
“The decision to retire was very tough,” Kumble said at the post-match presentation ceremony on Sunday. “When you have played the game for 18 years and so competitively at that, it does become difficult.”
The ace leg-spinner said the finger injury that he sustained on the third day of the Test helped him make up his mind.
“This injury helped me take this decision. I had already made the decision on Saturday. I knew I would not be 100 percent fit for the fourth Test in Nagpur and I did not want to let the team down.”
Kumble thanked his team-mates and family for their support.
“I shared the dressing room with some of the great players like Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Saurav Ganguly and Vangipurappu Laxman besides the younger lot like Virender Sehwag and Zaheer Khan.
“It has been a great experience and a great journey.”
The Indian stalwart, given a lap of honour by his team-mates, said it would have been a fitting farewell had his side won the third Test.
“Delhi has been very special to me. I thought it would be fitting if we won the game and the series here. Ideally I would have liked to bow out with a win.
“But I am confident of sealing the series in Nagpur.”—Agencies