Kumble, India's big-hearted gentleman warrior

There are many types of tributes. Or, as Sir Donald Bradman explained it when addressing a young and eager audience on a late Sunday afternoon in Sydney about sixty years ago, what we need are the memories to remind us when honouring a great player.

These are the recollections of a player's performances when paying homage to his career. They are also the reminiscences, which habitually remind us of the many landscapes that encompass his on-field trials and tribulations as a competitor.

In the case of the now erstwhile Indian captain, Anil Kumble they are mostly positive. No one need look further than Kumble to understand how he played the game: within the spirit of the laws and the way he also brought dignity to his role as a sportsman and captain.

Tall and athletic, his action had an old-fashioned unforgettable gracefulness that made you sit back and admire the skill he employed when bowling. It was the movement and distinction of a swan gliding across the lake before taking wing in search of fresh challenges.

It needs more than guts to bowl with a broken jaw, where teeth have been wired and a bandage is strapped tightly around the head to keep the jaw in place. Apart from displaying character, it also shows how he had been prepared to accept the challenge and place his team's welfare ahead of his own needs.

There have been batsmen who have gone into combat in matters of urgency with broken limbs, whether they are arms or legs. But Kumble decided to take up such a challenge in Antigua on that 2002 tour and create not just a legend but also inspire a nation in an hour of need. He dismissed Brian Lara and ended with one for 29 in 19 overs in a drawn Test and shared series.

It was John Wright, during an interview in Kanpur in December 2004, who underlined the value of Kumble not only as a player but as also how his presence inspired others. Wright was often disappointed the way the Indian media failed to recognise the Karnataka man's ability or that he is a world-class act.

He grumbled loudly when saying, "People always talk about our batsman, but I don't think he gets credit for what he has done for the team and how he plays the game. There are far too many who ignore his contribution and to me that is wrong.

"He is a deep thinker and a quality performer who works hard at perfecting his skills to become a better bowler. He has a great heart and a way of bowling which is important. But look at his record at home as well as in other countries," Wright added as he championed Kumble's cause.

What also bothered Wright was the talk about how the subcontinent pitches suited Jumbo's style of spin, but what about other countries? It was his ability to create pressure and work out a batsman which enabled him to take his 619 Test wickets during a career lasting eighteen years.

Sure, he was the magician on crumbling surfaces where there was difficult bounce, but these were not always Indian pitches. He created his own strikeforce and there were times when watching him bowl you wondered by those designing video games did not copyright his style for one of their games. Maybe the will as he had that ability to destroy the opposition.