Jhakas | Sanjay Jha
So Anil Kumble has finally called it a day in the ODIs. While everyone went expectedly sentimental over Jumbo’s decision, few really absorbed the innate inner character of this man and his awesome contribution to Indian cricket. Anil is perhaps India’s most under-rated, under-worshipped, and usually under-recognised cricket hero even as he walked away from blue clothing for the last time.
Kumble’s success lies in his ability to pull off with remarkable persistence the wickets when India really needed them. He was always our trump card, our fall-back guy. Stemming runs and beguiling batsmen. His legendary predecessors would sarcastically run down his “non-turners and medium-pace spins”, but evidently the record-books tell a different story about Kumble’s deadly arsenal. Continue reading below
Kumble was to spin bowling what Glen McGrath is to the faster lot. Unwavering accuracy, nagging length and a ferocious determination to outwit the batsmen. And just like McGrath shakes his head with furious indignation after very ball as if he should be having figures of 1.4-0-0-10, Kumble shares the Pigeon’s resolution to wickedly deceive the opponent with his sack of tricks. The man is never satisfied. You hit him for a four, and Kumble’s ire crosses the boundary. You hit him for a six, and he will come at you with a long rope. What India will miss most is Anil’s fiery intensity, his no-nonsense doggedness, his constant tormenting of adversaries. And whenever he came on to bowl, we were almost dead certain that he was our secret missile weapon waiting to be unleashed on unsuspecting cocky soon to-be-victims. Kumble was reassuring. We almost took him for granted.
Off- the filed, the man is humble to the point of exasperation with a capital H. Soft-spoken, sharp, suave and a simple family-man combined in a rare character cocktail, a complete contrast to the frequently cussing guy on the field when the fielder would let a ball go through his legs off his bowling.
There was a brief time when Sourav Ganguly was struggling during his early days as captain, when I honestly thought Anil would have been an outstanding skipper should Ganguly have stumbled. Kumble, along with Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly , I have always felt, have been the “ thinking” cricketers India has produced. These guys are capable of incisive analysis, managing scarce resources, the environment and being smart in match strategy. But unlike his other two colleagues, Anil preferred to keep a low profile, often being misunderstood as someone who was not a natural communicator or a gung-ho aggressive leader, one who preferred to be quietly withdrawn. The perception prevailed that he was media-shy, paranoid about handling controversies, and would be looking for only linear solutions. I believe he missed out on the crucial mantle because in a batsman-obsessed game and country, we don’t respect our bowlers enough. That is the tragedy of modern commercial international cricket. You always ask how many runs were scored by whom first, and not who took the wickets?
Mashrafe Mortaza of Bangladesh in saying that Kumble’s “arrogance” in haughtily anticipating India in Barbados on April 28th in the World Cup final, cheesed him off sufficiently to wreck Virendra Sehwag’s stumps and bring the famed Indian batting line-up genuflecting to it’s knees is over-stated. Kumble is not a cocky man, carrying a big ego on his shoulders; but yes, Kumble did seem confident (like the rest of us) that perhaps 1983 was about to have a sequel. If I know him well, Kumble would have hurt deep, manifested in his statement that he would have liked a better climax to an illustrious ODI career. Paradoxically enough, he was left out to shoot photos from the dressing room in two telling matches that India has played in World Cup matches both in the West Indies against Sri Lanka and in Johannesburg, South Africa in the finals in Y 2003.
But Anil Kumble still has Test cricket ahead of him, and knowing his focused dedication, his resolve on fitness, and that unerring perfection in his bowling, we should expect the astute leg spinner to still produce new gems and a bigger casualty list.
Kumble deserves India’s undiluted admiration. In that famous Hero Cup final, he weaved a magical tale. Like that great game, he will remain an unforgettable icon. A hero.
I await to see him in pure white, a short run-up, easy, flawless action, a nipping delivery, and the sound of ball hit pad obtrusively placed ahead of the stumps. A loud appeal, one arm raised, his countenance questioning the existence of a man, helmeted or otherwise 22 yards away. A finger goes up northwards, acknowledging the crescendo cry for justice. And then that closed fist pumping up in a feisty celebration of another acquisition. Another victim. Another triumph. A Jumbo moment.
