10 less gifted cricketers who became legends

5. Anil Kumble

Anil Kumble

Rather surprisingly, it was as a fast bowler that Anil Kumble started playing cricket. Thank god, he didn’t become one!

However, the man who turned into a leg spinner at a relatively late age retained a fast bowler’s temperament. Unlike Shane Warne, he didn’t have the skill to turn the ball a mile. Yet, he finished his Test career as the third highest wicket-taker ever with a colossal 619 wickets.

Like McGrath, he relied almost entirely on discipline and had the courage to overcome all odds to come out on top. Who could forget Kumble getting Brian Lara out with a bandaged jaw?

On turning tracks, he was almost unplayable, with his bounce, accuracy and slight turn being more than enough to trouble even the greatest of batsmen.

6. Steve Waugh

Steve Waugh

Arguably Australia’s greatest Test captain, Steve Waugh can be proud of having turned a very good team into an almost invincible one during the early 2000s.

As far as his batting was concerned, he didn’t have his brother Mark Waugh’s velvet touch. He was not surgical. He was the handyman to his brother’s violin playing artistry.

However, Steve finished his Test career with 10927 runs at an average of 51 and showed himself to be a superior player to Mark, typifying the value of grit and courage over natural talent in the same family. His 46 not-outs show how much he loved a fight. Waugh didn’t score easy runs on belters. He scored hard runs in tough conditions, almost moulded by his mentor, Allan Border, almost turning out like him. He had a ferocious square cut but making a career out of it needed a lot of confidence and temperament, blended with calm and a tactical mind. Waugh had them!