Anil Kumble took 619 Test wickets, more than any other Indian bowler, and in February 1999 he became only the second man in Test history to take all ten wickets in an innings. He did it with a style of leg-spin that relied on pace, bounce and accuracy rather than big turn, and he kept doing it for 18 years.
Name: Anil Kumble | Born: 17 October 1970, Bangalore (now Bengaluru) | Sport: Cricket | Position: Right-arm leg-spin bowler, lower-order batter
An engineer who bowled quickly
Kumble grew up in Bangalore and studied mechanical engineering at RV College of Engineering, finishing his degree in the early 1990s while already playing for Karnataka. He was tall, with a high action, and he bowled his leg-breaks, top-spinners and googlies much faster than most wrist-spinners. Batters who expected to use their feet against a slow, looping ball found themselves hurried, and many of his wickets came from deliveries that skidded on and hit the pad or the stumps.
He made his one-day debut against Sri Lanka in Sharjah on 25 April 1990 and his Test debut against England at Old Trafford on 9 August 1990. After that tour he dropped out of the side for a while before returning in 1992.
Home wickets and the Hero Cup
From 1992 onwards Kumble was a fixture on Indian pitches, where he and the home spinners won a long series of matches. In one-day cricket his best moment came in the Hero Cup final at Eden Gardens on 27 November 1993, when he took six for 12 against West Indies. Those remained the best one-day figures by an Indian for many years.
Ten for 74 at Delhi
In February 1999 Pakistan came to India for a two-Test series. In the second Test, at the Feroz Shah Kotla in Delhi, they needed 420 to win in the fourth innings and started well, reaching 101 without loss. Kumble then took every wicket that fell. He finished with ten for 74, the first bowler to take all ten since England’s Jim Laker in 1956, and India won by 212 runs to level the series.
Stamina and courage overseas
For much of his career Kumble was criticised for being less effective outside India. He answered that over time with long, patient spells in Australia, England and the West Indies. In Antigua in 2002 he bowled with a broken jaw, his face strapped, and dismissed Brian Lara. In Australia in 2003-04 he took 24 wickets in three Tests. His batting improved too, and on 10 August 2007 he scored an unbeaten 110 against England at The Oval, his only Test century, after more than 100 matches of trying.
He passed Kapil Dev’s Indian record of 434 Test wickets in 2004 and kept going until he had 619, behind only Muttiah Muralitharan and Shane Warne at the time. His one-day record ended at 337 wickets in 271 matches.
Captain, then coach
Kumble was appointed India’s Test captain in November 2007 and led the side through a heated tour of Australia in 2007-08, when he handled a difficult series with notable composure. He retired on 2 November 2008, during the third Test against Australia at the same Kotla ground where he had taken ten wickets, and handed over the captaincy to MS Dhoni.
His life after playing has been just as busy. He and Javagal Srinath won elections to run the Karnataka State Cricket Association in 2010. He chaired the ICC Cricket Committee from 2012, and the ICC inducted him into its Hall of Fame in 2015. In June 2016 he became head coach of the Indian team, a post he left in June 2017, and he later coached in the Indian Premier League.
Career record and honours
- Tests: 132 matches, 619 wickets, average 29.65, 35 five-wicket hauls, best figures 10 for 74
- One-day internationals: 271 matches, 337 wickets, best figures 6 for 12
- Test century: 110 not out against England at The Oval, 2007
- All ten wickets in an innings against Pakistan, Delhi, February 1999
- India Test captain from November 2007 to November 2008
- Arjuna Award: 1995
- Padma Shri: 2005
- ICC Cricket Hall of Fame: 2015
- India head coach: June 2016 to June 2017
