Anil Kumble
The leg-spinner who dismissed all ten batsmen in a Test match innings, joining England's Jim Laker as the second player to achieve the feat.
via Wikipedia: Anil Kumble · see source
Anil Kumble is a former Indian cricketer, captain, coach and commentator who played Test and One Day International cricket for his national team over an international career of 18 years. A right-arm leg spin bowler, regarded as one of the greatest bowlers in cricket history, he took 619 wickets in Test cricket and was the third-highest wicket taker of all time at the time of his retirement in 2008. Born in Bangalore, Mysore State (now Karnataka), Kumble developed an early interest in cricket as he grew up watching players like B. S. Chandrasekhar before becoming a full-fledged cricketer.
- Role
- Right-arm leg spin bowler
- Affiliation
- India National Cricket Team & Karnataka State Team
- Debut Era
- 1990 (ODI) and 1990 (Test)
- Status
- Retired from international cricket in November 2008
- Major Record
- Third-highest wicket taker of all time at the time of his retirement in 2008 wit
- Signature Feat
- One of three bowlers ever to have taken all ten wickets in a Test innings (10 fo
Verified Timeline
Lore & Background
Kumble made his first-class debut at the age of 19 while representing Karnataka. Soon he was picked up for the Austral-Asia Cup in 1990 before making his Test debut against England later that year. Since then, he played 132 Test matches and was responsible for many of India's victories. In 1999, while playing against Pakistan, Kumble dismissed all ten batsmen in a Test match innings, joining England's Jim Laker as the second player to achieve the feat. He became a part of the regular ODI team during the early 1990s and had some of the best performances during this time. The year 1996 proved to very successful for him as he was selected for the World Cup and emerged as the most successful bowler of the tournament, taking 15 wickets in seven matches at an average of 18.73. Unlike his contemporaries, Kumble was not a big turner of the ball, but relied primarily on pace, bounce, and accuracy. He was nicknamed "Jumbo", as his deliveries, for a spinner, were "as fast as a jumbo jet".
In Their Own Story
The air inside Delhi's Feroz Shah Kotla was thick with tension on February 7, 1999. The scoreboard told a grim story: India needed a miracle against Pakistan. Anil Kumble, the small man in the yellow jersey, tightened his grip on the ball. He bowled with a fury that seemed to defy physics, picking up wicket after wicket as the crowd roared. When he finally claimed the final wicket of the innings, the stadium erupted into an explosion of noise rarely heard before or since. In that moment, history was not just written; it was etched in stone. It has been said that once he had got nine wickets, his friend and teammate Javagal Srinath started deliberately bowling wide outside the off stump, so that Kumble could take the tenth wicket. In an interview via 10 Sports, former opener Sadagoppan Ramesh revealed that in that match, when he tried to catch Waqar Younis off Srinath's bowling, Srinath cautioned him to drop the catch, saying that "he had no business going after that catch". The performance was rated by Wisden as the second best bowling performance of all time, and the achievement was commemorated by naming a traffic circle in Bengaluru after him and gifting him a car with the customised licence plate: KA-10-N-10.
Reader's Guide
Anil Kumble's career statistics are nothing short of impressive, featuring 619 Test wickets and being the third-highest wicket taker of all time at the time of his retirement in 2008. He is one of three bowlers ever (the other two being Jim Laker of England in 1956 and later, Ajaz Patel of New Zealand in 2021) to have taken all ten wickets in a Test innings, taking 10 for 74 runs against Pakistan in 1999. His signature skill was his reliance on pace, bounce, and accuracy rather than big turn of the ball. Unlike many spinners who relied solely on guile, Kumble combined physical fitness with mental toughness, often bowling long spells. He was nicknamed "Jumbo" because his deliveries, for a spinner, were "as fast as a jumbo jet". Kumble's impact on Indian cricket culture is profound. He was a member of the Indian team that was one of the joint-winners of the 2002 ICC Champions Trophy, where the title was shared with Sri Lanka. He was awarded the Padma Shri, India's fourth-highest civilian honour in 2005. In October 2012, he was appointed the chairman of the International Cricket Council (ICC)'s cricket committee. In February 2015, he became the fourth Indian cricketer to be inducted into ICC Hall of Fame. He also served as the head coach of the Indian cricket team between 2016 and 2017.
Did You Know?
- Kumble dismissed all ten batsmen in a Test match innings in 1999, joining England's Jim Laker as the second player to achieve the feat.
- He was nicknamed 'Jumbo' because his deliveries, for a spinner, were 'as fast as a jumbo jet'.
- Kumble was awarded the Padma Shri, India's fourth-highest civilian honour, in 2005.
- In February 2015, he became the fourth Indian cricketer to be inducted into the ICC Hall of Fame.
- Kumble took his first 50 Test wickets in 10 matches, which was the fastest by an Indian bowler until Ravichandran Ashwin surpassed him.