Spin Wizard

From Rawalpindi to Adelaide, from Jamaica to Johannesburg, this Indian spinner haunted opponents with his variations leading India to victory across continents.

Known for bowling tirelessly (he bowled 72 overs in a Test innings once), Jumbo is remembered for his tenacity in bowling even when injured, especially after an incident in a match against West Indies where, despite having his broken jaw being heavily taped, he came back to deliver a stirring spell.

A Padma Shri recipient, he is the Chairman of the ICC Cricket Committee.

Childhood & Education

Anil Radhakrishna Kumble was born on October 17, 1970 in Bengaluru.

Kumble’s primary school was Holy Saint English School and he later attended National High School. He began playing cricket on the streets of Bangalore and joined a club called “Young Cricketers” at the age of 13.

He completed his pre-university college education from National College Basavanagudi. Kumble graduated from Rashtreeya Vidyalaya College of Engineering (RVCE) in Mechanical Engineering in 1991–92.

Family & Personal Life

Kumble has a brother named Dinesh Kumble. He is married to Chethana Kumble, and has two children – son Mayas Kumble and daughter Svasti Kumble.

He is nicknamed “Jumbo” not only because his deliveries, for a spinner, are “as fast as a jumbo jet”, but also because his feet are quite big or “Jumbo” as observed by his team-mates.

Career

A right-arm leg spinner, he started his career as a fast bowler which gave him a useful faster delivery 

He made his debut in the One Day International (ODI) Cricket with the Australasia Cup tournament at Sharjah in the year 1989-90 against Sri Lanka. 

A year later, his Test Cricket career began with a Test Series against England.

In 1992, Kumble was selected for the twin tours of South Africa and Zimbabwe. He gave an impressive performance scalping 18 wickets in four tests.  The subsequent home series against England though put Kumble firmly as the lead Indian spinner as he grabbed 21 wickets in the 3-match series.
 

The year 1996 proved to be extremely successful for Kumble as he claimed 61 ODI wickets at an average of 20.24.

Records

In a brilliant though always downplayed career Kumble claimed virtually every Indian record.

In 1999, in Delhi, his favorite hunting ground, he swallowed all ten wickets in an innings against Pakistan. The performance was rated by Wisden as the second best “Bowling performance of all time”. The achievement was commemorated by naming a traffic circle in Bangalore after him, and gifting him a car with the customized license plate: KA-10-N-10.

In December 2001, on home turf in Bangalore, he became the 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 in January 2008 he broke the 600 barrier, to stand behind only Shane Warne and Muttiah Muralitharan, emphasising his contribution to spin’s golden era.

And at The Oval he 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.

Retirement

Kumble played his last ODI match against Bermuda at Port of Spain in March, 2007. His last Test Cricket match was against Australia during the Border Gavaskar Trophy, played in October 2008 at Delhi.
 

Awards & honours

Arjuna award, a sports award from the Government of India, in 1995

One of the Wisden Cricketers of the Year, in 1996