A champion alright!

Saturday night..I switch on Cricinfo and to my utter amazement and disbelief I find that Anil Kumble has announced his retirement from International cricket with immediate effect..
My first reaction was "Oh No.." But the second and more thought out one was "Maybe Yes"..

I then asssessed that since Dada is retiring after Nagpur, could Indian cricket together afford to lose 2 bespectacled heroes, who both ironically had a clear and perfect vision for the future..
Ganguly deserves a tribute on his own too...That wil come later..

The time now is to celebrate Anil Kumble.... This name is synonymous with determination... Hardwork, perserverance, work ethic.. Bring on the thesaurus.

A man who made his debut as a bespectacled, easy to rag engineering student in England in 1990.. At first sight he was a trundler.. Not many who saw him could love him instantly..He wasnt a Shane Warne..The tweak was non existent and beating batsmen in flight was almost an unwelcome visitor.. He seemed to have his ways.. His height was strange for a "spinner".. His modus operandi seemed to rely on the uneven nature of the wicket and hope that the batsman made a mistake when the ball misbehaved..
Easy to say, he dint quite work..Azhar wasn't swept off his feet and traditional spinners like Raju and Hirwani seemed better to his laid-back eye..

But what Kumble did was fight.. He went back home and completed his Engineering ..And kept performing on the domestic circuit, albeit on helpful pitches.. He was moderate without ever being eye catching.. But this was to change and quickly...

The redemption came at the Feroz Shah Kotla stadium in the capital, one that was to be his bastion later on.. It was the season opener Irani trophy game, an annual fixture between the Ranji champs that year and the Rest of India, an assembled squad which was akin to a quota system realization.. Kumble sure won the quota from the South Zone and off he went to Delhi.. He took 13 wickets against a strong Delhi contingent and made the selectors sit up and take notice..This performance earned him the sobriquet "Jumbo", one given to him by the outspoken Sardar, Navjot Singh Sidhu..

The performance earned him a recall to the SouthAfrican sojourn later that year and he took a 5 wicket haul in his comeback game and did well enough to be picked as one of the 3 spinners to face the "Poms" (England for those who came in late) in the sultry 1993 summer.. He made the Poms smell dust and at the end of the summer had earned a reputation as India's leading spinner..

Throughout the 90s. when Azhar and Tendulkar led India, their concept was simple...When in doubt turn to Kumble.. Most of the fast bowlers(that is sure a misnomer) of the 90s were just people to take the shine off the ball.. Skipper Azhar and coach Wadekar soon sized up the situation that India was better off playing on doctored surfaces, where even the coin at the toss would tweak after landing on the pitch.. Kumble was his right hand man.. No Kumble meant no win..

Crept in the bad habits.. When India went abroad, Kumble wasnt a force cos he was used to bowling on the turners and he was played as a medium pacer by the batsmen.. Jumbo was more of a stock bowler abroad and this was simply not working for India cos the pacers were not upto scratch anyway, apart from Srinath,who again was an honest trier and maybe later Prasad..
Indian team to no one's surprises lost all they played abroad, but come any home game and Kumble and co would run amok at the slightest sign of turn..

His moment of crowning glory came when he took all 10 wickets against Pakistan at home in the Delhi (where else!) test.. The uncharitable would point to JP being the umpire, but hell he deserved them all(OK most).. Then came the bouquets and formation of "Anil Kumble circle" in his homeland..Both his feet all the while were firmly entrenched on the ground..

Post the Azhar and the Sachin era, Ganguly was annointed captain.. Kumble though had a shoulder injury(rotator cuff) due to a heavy workload.. Now that came as no shock for the yeoman services he had rendered to Indian cricket.. In the meanwhile, Harbhajan Singh was born.. A heavily strapped Kumble assisting him in the nets in the 2001 home series against Aus was a sight for sore eyes..

A fit Kumble in 2001-2003 did not find a place in tests abroad because he simply wasnt bowling better than Bhajji.. Ganguly took the "hardest decision of his tenure" and Jumbo was benched.. But the sight of him readying his lens to capture the winning moment in Trinidad test in 2002 is stil embedded in memory. Team came first then came self.. It was a refreshing change in Indian cricket and the humble engineer had showed the way..
2 tests later, bowling with a broken jaw at Antigua was the pinnacle.. Though it seemed a touch foolish, he said "I am going home tomorrow and wil be content that I gave my best"..It was difficult to disagree with such a warrior..

Jumbo at this time was stil king in test matches at home.. The Bhajji-Jumbo duo simply crushed all comers and India continued winning at home, apart from the new found Dada instilled vigour that helped them win a match in all series abroad during 2001-03.

The turning point though came at the Gabba in late 2003... Bhajji had an injury to his bowling hand and he had to leave Oz.. The benched engineer was drafted in to what was to be his biggest project till date.. He took 24 wickets in the 3 ensuing games and 13 no less in Steve Waugh red ragged farewell at Sydney in Jan 2004. A man of the match away from home was a first and made him proud..
Since then he never lost his place and Bhajji had to do the reserve role abroad.. Jumbo had well and truly taken off...

He had that quality..Once he was given a chance, he rarely fluffed it.. Milestones came like there were no tomorrow.. 300 and 400 both at Bangalore(I watched both in the stadium luckily!)..And then 600 at Perth in 2008..
600? U must be kidding me.. For a man who wasn't by any means the Sheik of tweak like the genius Warne or a mystery freak like Muralitharan, this was some achievement..

He became captain in 2007 when Tendulkar refused test captaincy..If u had asked Jumbo to take bullets for India, he would without flinching.. Captaincy was nothing after all... But in the end the bed of thorns that came with being captain consumed him..

His biggest praise was from Steve Waugh who said he was amazed by how relentless Jumbo was.. U could lose focus for a moment against him at ur own peril..

Harsha Bhogle once said that for any growing up schoolboy the role model should be Kumble and not Tendulkar, cos Kumble is a hero for the common man.. He gives us the feeling that "I can become one like him someday".. The Gods surely weren't very impressed with him initially and he was born with very few gifts.. But they would have been showering flowers from the clouds and nodding in approval when he announced his retirement at the Kotla.. It was a win for mankind.. For work ethic against riches..For the mortals against the geniuses..

If any kid today is given a pocket money of 100 bucks, I would suggest him to call Jumbo.. How to make use of one's limited resources is a lesson not many have taught... Hell..Jumbo did that for 19 years..

It was sad to see noises from all quarters when he was on the struggle.. When he had a bad game, people suddenly saw that he dint turn the ball, that he wasnt good anymore.. But 619 wickets? Not a joke.. He had his style and he achieved greatness with it.. Nothing more nothing less..

I will always be proud that I share my birthday with the great man..
Thanks Anil.. I can't imagine what Indian cricket will be without u.. U have influenced my growing up years mate.. And yes u have imparted smiles on the way... Good on u..