GOODBYE....JUMBO, THE SUPERMAN : ANIL KUMBLE

I feel very sad today, as every other true Indian cricket lover will be….. The JUMBO of Indian cricket has decided to call it a day. I got a real shock when the giant screen proclaimed that Anil Kumble had decided to hang up his boots. I was expecting his retirement decision to come after the series but certainly not on the last day of the Kotla test.

His relentless commitment and on field aggression have been thoroughly talked about and discussed by people worthier than me and by people who have shared the dressing room with him. I remember Anil Kumble as a perfect gentleman, the cricketer with a big heart and steely resolve. I met Anil Kumble in Lucknow when India was playing England at the KD Singh Babu stadium way back in 1994 - 1995 and Mohd Azharuddin was the Indian captain. He made me sit on his lap and signed my cap for me….that is how I remember Anil Kumble…the man with a golden heart…he had offered me some sugar coated chewable candy as well and I remember divesting him of his entire strip of candy. My dad still reminds me of the details :)

The determination with which he took the field with a broken jaw against the West Indies and got Brian Lara out lbw is a part of cricketing folklore. His 10 wickets against Pakistan at the Kotla is a ballad sung by cricket lovers even to this day. He has been a wonderful statesman of the Indian cricket team.

It has been rightly said that the BCCI should award Anil Kumble a lifetime pension for the services he has rendered. The hundred which he got at the Oval and the manner in which he celebrated shows the passion with which he played the game. Shane Warne and Muralidaran may have more wickets but they do not have a test century to their credit, do they ??? :)

A golden hearted man in real life as well, Anil has made himself available for several social causes.

A truly gifted individual with determination that can move mountains, it is shameful that towards the end of his career, critics took hearty digs at him now that their sitting duck Sourav Ganguly was gone. All of us should take our hats off to the wonderful cricketer, brilliant spinner and marvel that Anil Kumble is….He is truly one of the greatest of all time. I salute him and wish him all the best for his future. Godbless you Anil…..

“When you look at India as a team, their record at home probably compares to Australia's as best in the terms of win record. But our performance outside gets highlighted only because the difference between our show at home and abroad is too much.” : ANIL KUMBLE

"Anil Kumble has been a great servant of Indian Cricket and I use the word servant carefully because he has never tried to be the master. " : HARSHA BHOGLE