The Hindu : Sport : A dignified end to a glittering innings

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Saturday, Mar 31, 2007
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A dignified end to a glittering innings

Principal Correspondent

Anil Kumble announces his retirement from ODIs; says he'll be available for Tests

— Photo: K. Bhagya Prakash

DOUGHTY WARRIOR: Anil Kumble snapped at the Chinnaswamy Stadium where he announced his retirement from the one-day game.

Bangalore: A journey that commenced in Sharjah on April 25, 1990, with its share of wickets, victories, ecstasy and defeats, came to a dignified halt at the Chinnaswamy Stadium's packed P2 Hall here on Friday evening. Anil Kumble announced his retirement from One Day Internationals with a sense of calmness and certainty that has often been the strong points in his bowling armoury.

"It has been a long journey since 1990 and today I announce my retirement from One Day Internationals. But I will keep playing Tests," Kumble said.

India's highest wicket-taker in both forms of the game — 547 in 113 Tests and 337 scalps in 271 ODIs, backed by an economy rate of 4.30 per over — thanked all his team-mates, captains, coaches and also reserved his warmest words for his family. "I thank my parents and my brother (Dinesh Kumble) for his support and encouragement. I also thank my wife (Chetana) who has been a pillar of support and my children who help me take my mind off the game once I get back home, and make me realise that at the end of the day, cricket is just a sport though it takes different meanings when we win or when we lose," Kumble said.

Memories

The ace leg spinner recalled his cherished memories as well as those odd blips in a long career graph. "There have been quite a few, my first match, getting a `Man of the Match' award from Geoffrey Boycott in England, the Hero Cup final at Kolkata, the victories, the match winning partnership with Srinath here (in the Titan Cup), the good show from a team perspective in the 2003 World Cup. These are memories that will stay with me. Of course, there have been those times when it felt a bit different, I mean to be part of the squad but not be part of the playing eleven because I always wanted to bowl but I do understand the team management's predicament when they decide to go in with three seamers and one spinner because Harbhajan has done exceedingly well and won matches for us," Kumble said.

Kumble also revealed that retirement from one-dayers is something that he toyed with for a long time. "To be honest I did think about retiring four years back after we got back home from the 2003 World Cup. We did well as a team to reach the final but yes I was hurt that I missed out in the playing eleven but then my friends and Brijesh Patel, who is sitting here and who was then the selection committee chairman, convinced me that I have a long way to go and I stayed on.

Being part of the 2007 World Cup team was a fantastic opportunity but unfortunately we did not do well," Kumble said.

Thanks captains

Kumble also thanked all his captains and profusely praised Harbhajan: "In beginning Azhar supported me a lot and that has been the case with all captains right through to Dravid. Harbhajan is a fantastic bowler and has got 250 wickets in Tests at such a young age of 26-27 and we also have Powar, Piyush Chawla and Murali Kartik. So we do have the spinners."

The shadow of the early exit from the World Cup did creep into the press conference and Kumble admitted the team's sense of hurt candidly. "The public and media might forget once we do well in Bangladesh but believe me, as sportsmen we will never forget the fact that we lost out. That hurt will always stay on with us. More than the public, it is the players themselves who get hurt the most. I feel it is unfortunate that Rahul is being made a scapegoat. I fully support him and it was a team failure in the World Cup. Yes we are answerable to the public and please believe me, it is not that we are running away from the media, if a press conference is organised in the manner it has been done today, we are more than willing to explain but you know how chaotic it gets when we arrive in the country," Kumble said.

"We played poorly against Bangladesh and the format is such that one defeat can upset your plans there was added pressure of a billion fans when we played Sri Lanka. I thought 250 plus was gettable against the Lankans but somehow we didn't. But, I think this was the best 15 that could have gone to the World Cup and this team had the quality to go all the way and, remember, 80 per cent of this team was part of the team that qualified for the 2003 World Cup final," he added.

The road ahead

Kumble cautioned against taking emotional decisions with regard to team selection. "When I read the papers I feel that the entire squad would be sacked," he remarked in jest and then with a serious tone said: "It is time to look at the issue rationally and take a long term decision rather than take an emotional decision which would be a short-term one."

Kumble said that he would play Tests as long as he performs. " I will keep playing as long as I keep performing and winning matches. It is not about 600 wickets or 700 wickets, if it happens well and good. And having played for 17 years I guess I will be given the time and space to leave on my own. And the shoulder is strong enough," Kumble said and those last words should be reassuring as India's fortunes in Tests often hinges on his shoulders.

Dravid's praise

Rahul Dravid lauded Anil Kumble's contribution to the Indian one-day squad. In a telephonic chat with The Hindu, Dravid said: "He is a champion cricketer, a warrior for us and his record speaks for itself though it only tells half the story. He has been a great influence on our players on and off the field. But it is a bit premature to talk about missing him in the dressing room as he will play Tests for us and I am looking forward to having many more nice moments with him out there in the Tests."

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