OTD: Anil Kumble was born in 1970

Anil Kumble, India’s highest wicket-taker in Tests and ODIs, was born on this day, October 17, in 1970. He was born to Krishna Swamy and Saroja in Bengaluru in Karnataka and has a brother, Dinesh.

Kumble attended Holy Saint English Education for primary education before graduating from National High School Basavanagudi in Class X. He started playing cricket on the streets of Bangalore and joined the “Young Cricketers” club when he was 13 years old.

After high school, he attended National Pre-University College Basavanagudi and graduated in Class XII. In 1991-92, he completed his B.E. in Mechanical Engineering degree from Rashtreeya Vidyalaya College of Engineering (RVCE).

He made his Ranji debut for Karnataka in 1989 against Hyderabad and took four wickets with his leg-spin. He also played a youth Test for India U19 against Pakistan U19 and scored 113 and 76. This helped him get noticed by Indian selectors, and he was picked for the Indian team for the Austral-Asia Cup in Sharjah in 1990 against Sharjah.

His Test debut came the same year, in 1990, against England in Manchester, and his 50 Test wickets came in just 10 matches, a record he held till R Ashwin broke it by reaching the milestone in nine Tests.

On 27 November 1993, in the final of the Hero Cup against the West Indies at Calcutta’s Eden Gardens, Kumble conceded only 12 runs and took six wickets. Kumble’s record stood until Stuart Binny broke it in 2015, taking 6/4 against Bangladesh, and then Mohammad Shami broke that record by taking 7/57 in the 2023 World Cup in the semi-final against New Zealand.

Wisden named Kumble Cricketer of the Year in 1996. Kumble was the highest wicket-taker in the Wills World Cup 1996, where India reached the semi-finals.

In 1999, Anil Kumble created history when he picked all ten Pakistani wickets in an innings in the Delhi Test, becoming only the second bowler to do so, after England’s Jim Laker.

Kumble continued to be a cornerstone of Indian bowling, forming a deadly spin combo with Harbhajan Singh. In 2002, Anil Kumble broke his jaw after being hit by a Mervyn Dillon bouncer on the third day of the fourth Test at St. John’s against the West Indies. However, he got his jaw taped up and came to bowl, taking the wicket of Brian Lara.

Kumble was a credible batter as well, scoring his only Test hundred, 110, against England in 2007. This was also the year he announced his retirement from ODIs, ending up with 337 wickets in 271 ODIs.

Kumble was then named the Indian Test captain as Rahul Dravid stepped down and led India to a 1-0 Test series win over Pakistan. He led India during a heated Test series in Australia in 2008, but a finger injury proved to be the end of his Test career when Australia travelled to India later in the year.

He announced his retirement from Test cricket on November 2, 2008 in the third test match against Australia at Feroz Shah Kotla. He retired with 619 wickets in 132 tests at an average of 29.65 with best bowling of 10/74.

After his retirement, Kumble continued to play cricket in the Indian Premier League, captaining the Royal Challengers Bengaluru to the IPL 2009 final. After retirement from cricket, he turned to coaching, coaching the Indian team from 2016 to 2017. He also coached Punjab Kings in the IPL. He is currently a broadcaster and commentator.

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