Dubai: The towering figure of Anil Kumble may often inspire a sense of awe among those around him, but his humility is unmistakable when speaking about his own exploits. Add to that a wry sense of humour, and it made for an absorbing session with the ‘Jumbo’ jet of Indian cricket on Thursday evening.
A chief guest at the 18th edition of the Shyam Bhatia Cricket Awards, an annual get-together for the local cricket fraternity at Bhatia’s museum premises, brought out the best from India’s highest wicket-taker in Test cricket (619) in an hourlong interaction with Mike Coward, one of the most respected cricket writers from Down Under — who was flown in for the occasion.
“I was destined to take 10 wickets that day,” Kumble said matter-of-factly, referring to that magical afternoon at the Feroz Shah Kotla when he became only the second bowler after Jim Laker to do a Perfect-10 and leave Pakistan shell-shocked. Much as he may have tried to make it sound like just another day in office, the last two sessions of play witnessed a Herculean spell from Kumble during which he claimed all 10 wickets off 18.2 overs, giving away just 37 runs.
Looking back, Kumble told the motley gathering: “Pakistan had to get a 400-plus target to win the match and were hundred odd for no loss at lunch. We had a chat at the dressing room that let’s give it a go — and I had to put my hands up as I was the senior spinner in the team and Harbhajan was only three to four Tests old. I just had to keep things tight and once we got (Shahid) Afridi out, things fell into place.”
Like most sportspersons, Kumble was also superstitious about his ‘lucky charm’ that afternoon. “Every time Sachin took my sweater and handed it over to the umpire, I was getting a wicket. He was my lucky charm that day,” he quipped.
It was obvious that the evening would steer clear of the controversial stand-off between Kumble and Virat Kohli last year, but the evening had it’s share of controversies when Coward reflected on the ‘Monkeygate’ of 2008 — the scandal that rocked India’s tour of Australia. The high voltage series that it was, it tested Kumble’s diplomatic and man-management skills to the fullest — and he came out with flying colours.
Ironically enough, Kumble — then his late 30s — was thrust into the captain’s role only in the latter stages of his career and recalled it in his self-deprecating style. “It (the captaincy) came late, it came to me by default,” he recalled with a smile, before adding: “Sachin had done the job, so had Sourav and Rahul did not want to do it anymore. Dhoni was still young and he had just won the T20 World Cup and they didn’t want to burden him so soon. So there I was and I was given the job.” he said.
Even before the ‘Monkeygate’ erupted between Andrew Symonds and Harbhajan Singh, there were trying moments in the high voltage series and Kumble had retorted after the Sydney Test which saw the hosts engage in an overdose of gamesmanship: “There are two teams out there and only one of them is playing in the spirit of the game.”
The steely determination in his character, often masked by a smile, had shone though several times in his career. A defining image of the famous Anil Kumble spirit was brought up by the co-host on Thursday evening — when he flouted the doctor’s advice to come out with his jaw strapped after an injury to have a go at the West Indies at the Antigua Test in 2002.
How could he bear the pain and come out to do it? “I thought it was the only way to get Brian Lara out, as he could be distracted by my bandage from watching the ball,” he said. Incidentally, he bowled 14 overs in that condition, finally got Lara out and took the next flight back to India for the surgery.
There were several other riveting topics — from his early days, peers and great rivals Muttiah Muralitharan and Shane Warne, the influence of IPL on young Indian players and the like. However, his parting shot about the factors behind India emerging as the powerhouse of world cricket stood out.
“I would say the journey started when the commercial angle started coming to the fore during our hosting the 1996 World Cup. The game has now gone to the hinterland of the country and that’s a great sign. Who would have thought even 20 years back that we would get a captain from Ranchi?”
