Legendary Indian leg-spinner Anil Kumble hit out at critics for questioning Sachin Tendulkar saying that he should be left alone and given the "emotional space" and respect he deserves, says a report in The Times of India.
"There have been instances when he has been the sole reason for India's wins, but he has never been the sole reason for India's losses. It's best to leave it to him to deal with what is in front of him now, because no one else has been in his position. No one else has played 192 Tests, made 34,000 runs, or scored 100 centuries,” Kumble wrote in his column for a magazine.
"For 23 years, he has helped people dream, he has made them feel better emotionally. More's the reason why we need to give him his emotional space now. This is the time for him to be left alone. He is such a great player that he doesn't need anyone else's advice on how to score runs. He just needs people to back off and allow him to work out what he needs to return to run-scoring ways, which I am confident he will,” he wrote.
"For the first time, people are questioning his place in the team. The expectations are that he should retire because his performances over the last year or so haven't matched the standards he has set over the previous 22 years.
Yes, we have not seen the best of Sachin in this phase, but it is not just him alone. If you look at the overall picture, the team has struggled in Test cricket, so are we suggesting that India are still a one-man army, still totally dependent on Sachin? I think not," he said.
Meanwhile, another report in the TOI reports Kumble praising Ricky Ponting for his services to the game.
"He is to Australia what Rahul Dravid was to India. Ricky is a great player and he kept the team together especially coming in at No. 3 like Dravid did for us," Kumble said.
"He was a good player of spin and he did exceptionally well against us in Australia. He was very good against fast bowling in particular and few played the short delivery better than him," Kumble added.
