Kumble and Kricket
An unforgettable incident in my life when I shared the nets and the privilege of watching Kumble bowl alongside.
Summer in Bangalore in the 90s was
always pleasant and enjoyable. Those were the days when every ground in
the city had kids attending cricket camps in droves. I was one of the
boys attending the camp in Basavangudi.
The only thing I hated about the
other wise enjoyable camp was that I had to wake up at 5 am in the
mornings. With the kit on my cycle carrier, I would reach the grounds at
around 6. We started the mornings helping the groundsman to lay the mat
and fix the nets. The coach would take us with him for the initial
warm-up exercises and we would come back at the nets and start our
practice.
This day was different mainly for
the fact that we had a very tall guy having a go at the stumps. He was
unusually tall and his strides were long too. From a distance, I could
recognize him wearing the best cricket flannels and the Reebok bowling
boots. He went about his usual run-up and had a shy at the wickets. Most
of us stopped and were looking at him practice. It was nothing short of
a spectacle. When this guy turned around to his marker, we realized
that we had ANIL KUMBLE in our nets!!!
I am not bragging, but I am sure
every one of us had goose bumps watching him bowl with such accuracy and
determination. I mean, he was like very well established by then in the
Indian team; and here he was bowling on a matting wicket!!! Later, we
came to know that he had come to meet Venkatesh Prasad. Venky, by the
way, (was not in the Indian team then) was our coach. They were talking
for a while, and then Venky called us to start our practice. Kumble
joined us as well and he was nursing an injury.
Call it a privilege or honor or a
spectacle, I was lucky enough to share the nets with the greatest Indian
match winner. He carried no baggage and was bowling as another person
at the wickets and not as India's strike bowler. I curse my stars today
for not letting me have a cell phone to capture him bowling or posing
with him for a lifetime remembrance. Kumble is synonymous with Kricket
(it is not the Ekta Kapoor K syndrome!!)
Kumble took to the field at the Kotla for
the last time. I was again lucky to watch him bowl his last over.
Emotion was there for everyone to see on his face. For a man who never
showed emotions, it was a sight to behold. Sachin takes his cap for the
last time and hands it over to Billy Bowden. Hayden and Katich shake
hands with the legend as he collects the ball. One ball bounced so hard
that Dhoni had to move away to collect it. Hayden sent one ball down the
long leg for a boundary. Kumble completes his over. He walks in to the
horizon and as always with his head held high.
He ended his test career on his own
terms. He was modest when he talked to the Kotla crowd. Ravi Shastri
said it all when he ended the presentation ceremony. "We end this
presentation on a sad note."
I was emotional when he addressed the reporters after the
match. One of his comments was directed to all the doubting thomases and
cricket puritans, who time and again, questioned his ability of
spinning the ball. He said, and I quote, "I am still learning the art of
spinning the ball." The media never gave him his due. But again, Kumble
being Kumble, he did not bother much about it and thrilled fans all
over the world.
Take a
bow Jumbo. We will miss you.
A worthy snippet from Peter Roebuck’s article…
Yesterday, Kumble declared India's
innings closed so that he could say a proper goodbye to his supporters.
And then he declare his own innings closed, and left as always with a
determined look in his eyes and head held high. As far as tributes are
concerned, let us leave the last word to John Wright, his friend and
sometime coach.
Years
ago, I asked Wright why he had brought a bowler as aged and limited as
Kumble to Australia. He said: "I need him in the rooms." Next day he
took five wickets and later India won the match.
He never gave up, and with unyielding will
and high intelligence, made the most of his abilities. He scored a Test
hundred and never let his side down. A thousand pities the Australians
did not speak to him in Sydney. Throughout he has retained his dignity,
it has been an immense contribution, and he did not outstay his welcome
by a single day. Even in his retirement he served the side and Indian
cricket.
Some of the
articles that were written by journalists to celebrate the era of Kumble
are given below.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/sport/cricket/bpeter-roebuckb-crafty-old-kumble-times-his-bye-just-right/2008/11/02/1225560645541.html?page=fullpage#contentSwap1
http://content-uk.cricinfo.com/magazine/content/current/story/376696.html
http://www.rediff.com/cricket/2008/nov/03prem.htm
http://news.google.co.in/?ncl=1262523734&hl=en&topic=h
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Following is my take on Jumbo never being tapped as a captaincy material. We were given this topic to blog on during FFC1 at KSCA and glad that Kumble himself assessed it :)
http://www.royalchallengers.com/fan-club/anil_kumble-captaincy_material_never_tapped/
And like Mr.Suresh Menon quoted 'An undeterred giant'..really!
The first time I saw Kumble from close quarters was during the recent 4 Chiefs contest in Feb 2010. Though I've always lived within a radius of 0.2 to 4 kms from where he lives - Yediyur, Basavanagudi, Banashankari etc
@prometheus-RObin Uthappa tribute note ill get it in!!! bt hes tooo young naa fr atribute post?? well another 13-15 yeaqrs hell gt one as well!! for now Uthappa has to gt back into the INDIAN TEAM n cement his place forever!!!:):) motivation is wt he needs:) wt do u saY???