The suspense is over. Anil Kumble has been appointed the coach of the Indian cricket team. He piped Ravi Shastri to the big post in Indian cricket, perhaps the biggest after the captain himself. The BCCI had invited applications for the post through their official website, after which a total of 57 candidates applied for the post. From them, 21 were shortlisted and, in the end, it all came down to Kumble and Ravi Shastri. The cricket advisory committee featuring legends Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman and Sourav Ganguly were entrusted with the responsibility of interviewing the applicants, and gave a strong recommendation for their former teammate, himself a legend of the game.
A profile: A right-arm leg spinner during his playing days, Kumble played 132 Tests and ended up claiming 619 wickets at an average of 29.65 in an illustrations career that lasted 18 years. He remains India's highest wicket-taker in Tests, and the third highest overall, behind the other two spin legends of his era -- Muttiah Muralitharan and Shane Warne. Kumble had a remarkable one-day career as well. In 271 matches, he picked up 337 scalps averaging a little under 31. Again, he is the highest wicket-taker for India in the format. While did not taste much success with the bat in ODIs, in the longer format hr has one Test century and five fifties to his name.
Named as one of the Wisden cricketers of the Year in 1996, Kumble has the rare distinction of being only the second bowler in the history of Test cricket to claim all 10 wickets in an innings. He achieved his incredible feat at the Feroz Shah Kotla in Delhi in 1999. Defending 420, Kumble singlehandedly ran through the Pakistan line-up to create history. Jim Laker of England is the only other player to have taken 10 wickets in an innings in a Test, having done so way back in the 1950s. In one-dayers, he claimed 6 for 12 in the Hero Cup final in 1993 against West Indies to be named as the man of the final.
In the 90s, Kumble formed a formidable pairing with Rajesh Chauhan and Venkatapathy Raju. The trio bowled India to some memorable victories at home, in which Kumble played the leading role. This included the 3-0 drubbing of England in 1993, and the memorable 2-1 win over the Aussies in 1998. While Raju and Chauhan faded away after a bright start, Kumble went on to achieve greater heights. For the first half of his career, he struggled when playing away from home, but post 2000 he starred in some memorable wins abroad, including in England and Australia.
Towards the end of his career, Kumble was handed over the Test captaincy briefly. During his term in charge, India won the famous Test in Perth, which succeeded the controversial Sydney Test of 2008. Having represented the nation for 18 years, he quit international cricket after the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in 2008, along with Sourav Ganguly. Post retirement, he represented Royal Challengers Bangalore in the IPL, and even led them to the final in 2009. He was later the chief mentor of the team, before holding the same position for Mumbai Indians. And now, he embarks on his latest challenge, as the coach of the Indian team.
--By A Cricket Analyst
