Kumble was the best. but his main strength though is Test cricket.
He gives 100% all the time
He is a match winner.
He has performed all over the world.
He has won matches for India single handedly.
He has a never say die approach.
His greatness lies in the fact that he never had any one helping hand on the otherside. So i would rate him one ahead of warne. Warne was great but then he always had mcgrath and others to help him out.
One of the most important thing is that inspite of not getting what was due to him he kept performing. Salute to this guy. he has been better than sachin most of the times as far as performance is concerned.
may we see him in test cricket for another 1-2 years.
For me, it is a long awaited decision. In dina, there are lot of youngstes play a good cricket. But they are not selected for some reason or other. We all ahve developed a big list of reasons for not doing right things and gain success.
All ODI players in India should be given just FIVE years. so that new faces, young players can contribute a lot. We talk of system, but not implementing it. Gangulys removal was brought in Parliamnet for discusssion. But None talk about gaining a singel medal from olympics though we spend crores of money every year....We talk of improvement, but we donot implement....Chappel is right, to give room for youngsters. But we failed...Who is at this failure... Mathihalli G Rao, Pune.
RE:
by rayker rayker on Mar 31, 2007 08:23 AM Permalink
its strange that you expect his retirement, when he's hardly played any matches for india in ODIs. tell me how many are better than kumble ? how many have been consistent as kumble ? we can always bring in fresh blood, but only if they have the talent, and the merit. while what you say is true that fresh blood is good - we have to be reasonable in our judgement in brining in younger generation - which is why rotation is a good policy.
RE:
by rayker rayker on Mar 31, 2007 08:24 AM Permalink
you can check the stats - he's rarely played in one dayers, maybe around 50-60 in the half a decade or so after his surgery.
The unending argument about Kumble's ability to turn the ball is typical of Indians' misplaced sense of priorities - here's the highest wicket taker for India and only the second man to take 10 wickets in a Test innings and instead of thanking him for his services to Indian cricket, we're still arguing whether to slot him as a spinner or medium pacer or whatever. How the heck does that matter? He produced terrific results without doing anything outside cricket's rules. How many bowlers around the world can claim to do that? No matter what his style, his action was never suspect like Akhtar, Muralitharan or Malinga. Yet their teams and Boards stood by them. And here we are, always trying to demoralise one of the best bowlers we've ever had. The damned Indian crab mentality is at work here - what a shame! (Remember what Mao said about the colour of the cat? That's why China has run so far ahead of us despite but that's another story). I would like to say to this great man that there are numerous admirers of his game as well as his personality and he will be missed in one-dayers. We look forward to another steady, stable, reliable, result-oriented performance from him in tests. And hope the many high profile non-performing passengers in the Indian team do half as well as he does.
RE:He got results - that's what matters
by gaurav misra on Mar 31, 2007 06:16 AM Permalink
well,if thr have been any players,i admired the most in indian cricket,they r-anil kumble & sachin tendulkar..talking about anil,he is a great bowler,definitely,a spinner who always new how to take wickets n win matches for india..we need u anil,still,in test cricket..i really respect him a lot-a great fighter!!!hats off..
as far as sachin is concerned,people get ur facts right that sachin hasn't been a match-winner...he has got 53 MOM in ODI'S-at a better rate than lara n ponting/matches..
his committment in 18 yrs of int. cricket was never found wanting..tough times do come in every individuals life n destiny can't b changed...so the decision should retire should b left to sachin only bcoz he knows what is best for the team n him...mind u-he has now,nothing to gain from cricket but everything to loose..has made ample money out of it,so the only motivating force for him would be,i still want to serve the nation!!!
n for me,those who retire during there peaks r not true heros,bcoz they want to exit gracefully n can't take failures-whatever sachin does,i wud always support him..HE DESERVES IT!!!
RE:He got results - that's what matters
by Ashok on Mar 31, 2007 12:53 PM Permalink
sachin is gud but his tim now over. he shud go lik anil so dat pepl remember his gud achivment not gud to drag retirment lik dis. sachin go now with anil. we wil aprcate u
RE:He got results - that's what matters
by pdsridhara on Mar 31, 2007 06:45 AM Permalink
Well said..
It was only because of men like Kumble cricket was known to be Gentle men%u2019s game. He was a thorough professional, hardworking, committed , modest, well educated and intelligent. He grew with his merit with no political or godfather support. His service shall always be remembered.
So what if he is not a conventional style spinner. It doesn%u2019t need to be one always. If you want to call his style some thing else please do. It in no way will affect his credentials.
This blog at time is sickening. I only hope it does not reflect what majority Indians are.
Thanks Kumble for all your service to the nation. We are proud all of you.
Kumble, please retire from Test cricket too. You were always boring, unathletic, unspirited, and a very dull player. Venkatesh Prasad was another player in your league.
Atleast India can hope for new star if you can get your as& out of the team.
And why the heck are we still hearing from MORE. Rediff, don't you get it...WE DON'T WANT TO HEAR ANYTHING FROM THAT MORON MORE
RE:Kumble - retire from tests
by Vikram on Mar 31, 2007 07:02 AM Permalink | Hide message
Laker, you are the biggest ass ever. Kumble is by far the best bowler produced by India, look at his record and his impact on the game whenever he played. Superlative all the time.
You shud be ashamed of yourself making such a statement.
Message deleted by moderator
RE:
by rayker rayker on Mar 31, 2007 08:32 AM Permalink
give me a good reason why you think of kumble as boring? were'nt you one of them who complained indians are doing too many ads ? kumble is a boring adperson, he doesnt have any style like other fancied players. but he's produced the results.
kumble is a hard worker, who knows his limitations. unfortunately, he had to explain to everyone that he's a spin bowler who works on line and length, loop and flight, pace.
he's been good with top batsmen and the difficult tail enders. india has long had a problem with tail enders, and kumble for one at least helped us always in mopping up the tailenders.
he's been one of the most accurate bowler india has ever produced. he's modest on & off the ground and a terrific fighter on the ground. i wont cite you the west indies example of a broken jaw - but will cite him throughout his career. fancier bowlers like mcgrath have always been protected by thier captains by not playing them when the opposition would go hard at them. indians have not returned such a favour to our hapless bowlers. it's a testimony of his patience and resilience that kumble has put up with a demanding public, much of whom have been baying for his blood without really appreciating his good work.
Kiran More has joined Rediff Editorial Board. Now, he is going to comment not only on Cricket, but also on politics, technology, management, other sports like hockey, you name it. The Great More will soon be contesting election and will be the next CM of Maharashtra. Come on guys say "More ki Jai."
Even though Kumble hails from a country full of spinner friendly pitches, he was never a larger spinner of the ball. He spins the ball too little. But any way in cricket, be it test or one-day, wicket matters most. He got a lot of wickets but hardly can any one remember whether he had won matches or not. He won matches for India but very few. He never concentrated on other aspects of cricket like batting and fielding. I dont think he is the greatest spinner india has ever produced. We have more talented spinners than kumble during the last century. And bhajji is definitely far far far away from all of them. I would say that Kumble is an average bowler who had never created or set any kind of hype or expectations on him like Sachin, Saurav, Sehwag and Dravid.
RE:Good bowler
by anurag CHAUHAN on Mar 31, 2007 05:56 AM Permalink
U shld try bowling in a game u prick,if u cant remember how many games he had won than u shldnt write anything bad abt a person who dedicated all his life to cricket.
RE:Good bowler
by suban hiran on Mar 31, 2007 06:02 AM Permalink
Do you want me to name his success? Hero Cup, 19 wickets, all the games he won. Won more than Sachin has done... You have to think before writing...
RE:Good bowler
by narayanan vigneshwar on Mar 31, 2007 08:22 AM Permalink
Man of the match is not a yardstick to measure greatness. even by scoring paultry scores,MOM is given.kumble is a proven matchwinner.his 5-wicket haul helped india win adelaide test in 2003/04,wi series last year,17 wickets in SA tour in 1992/93.superstardom has always evaded anil but he will always be remembered as the greatest spinnerin the league of warne and murali.but he didnt have any controversies as both of them did
RE:[object]
by gautam gurnurkar on Mar 31, 2007 06:09 AM Permalink
Throughout the 90's, and even later, if there was any bowler who won india matches with his tight bowling in the middle overs, consistently, including taking crucial wickets, it was Mr.Kumble. When our fast bolwers used to go for runs, it was kumble who stopped the opposition from scoring runs even in the first 15 overs. He was tight even towards the end of an innings. Remember guys, throughout that decade India depended on only 2 players, Sachin with the bat and Kumble with the ball. No one in the history of Indian cricket was more consistent with line and length. Hats off Anil, you were a true champion. He gave more than 100% everytime. You have to give Kumble credit for what he did. He has won lots and lots of matches for India. May not all of them single handedly, but he has contributed to a great extent in every game India played.
RE:
by rayker rayker on Mar 31, 2007 08:38 AM Permalink
have you seen mcgrath taking the stick for more than one over ? ever ? thats because he's been taking off the attack. bowlers need protection. bowlers can have a bad day with batsmen friendly pitches. you have a lame argument , citing a one off incident. cite me another good spinner or good bowler of his times
RE:Good bowler
by gautam gurnurkar on Mar 31, 2007 06:08 AM Permalink
Throughout the 90's, and even later, if there was any bowler who won india matches with his tight bowling in the middle overs, consistently, including taking crucial wickets, it was Mr.Kumble. When our fast bolwers used to go for runs, it was kumble who stopped the opposition from scoring runs even in the first 15 overs. He was tight even towards the end of an innings. Remember guys, throughout that decade India depended on only 2 players, Sachin with the bat and Kumble with the ball. No one in the history of Indian cricket was more consistent with line and length. Hats off Anil, you were a true champion. He gave more than 100% everytime. You have to give Kumble credit for what he did. He has won lots and lots of matches for India. May not all of them single handedly, but he has contributed to a great extent in every game India played.
RE:Good bowler
by Vikram on Mar 31, 2007 07:05 AM Permalink | Hide message
Gottam Reddy, your comments show that you are an idiot and do not understand cricket. If there is one bowler you pick from India, Kumble will be that bowler. You should take you head out of ur ass before speaking.
RE:
by rayker rayker on Mar 31, 2007 08:36 AM Permalink
we almost won the series but for a catch drop by our young wicket keeper then. and we almost did it thanks to kumble. our fancied fast bowlers didnt do much. who says you have to spin the ball ? there's no such rules. he was effective. period.
ok, he wasnt too good at fielding, tell many how many others were? srinath and kumble won a match for us in bangalore if im not wrong - batting for the last last wicket. okay he wasnt too good with the bat - but he DID his best with the ball.
I think Anil was definitely the Greatest Match winner India ever produced. I don't think any other player even comes close to him, in terms of winning matches for India.
RE:Greatest Match Winner for India
by narayanan vigneshwar on Mar 31, 2007 08:25 AM Permalink
his 5-wicket haul helped india win adelaide test in 2003/04,wi series last year,17 wickets in SA tour in 1992/93.in headingley test match victory,he took 7 wickets .even murali and warne perform well in their home ground.spinners den is their own backyard
