Top 10 Karnataka cricketers to have played for India - Part 2

10. Anil Kumble

Indian captain Anil Kumble is chaired round the pitch on a lap of honour by his team mates after announcing his retirement from Test cricket during day five of the Third Test match between India and Australia at the Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium on November 2, 2008 in New Delhi

Nayan Mongia, the India wicket keeper, nick named Anil Kumble as ‘Jumbo’. The reason was because the ball bounced off the pitch like a jumbo jet.

Anil Kumble had untiring will power and determination, and when on the cricket field, possessed the fire of a warrior. Any player mis-fielding the ball of Kumble’s bowling had to be ready to face his ire.

This fighting nature of Kumble, came to the fore in a Test match at Antigua when he continued to bowl despite having a broken jaw. The image of Kumble, bandaged around his face and still continuing to bowl will be etched in every in cricket fans memory.

With 956 international wickets to his name, this man holds most of the records that can be achieved as a bowler. Kumble has 619 wickets in Test cricket which puts him in third position in the all time list of highest wicket takers, only behind Shane Warne and Muttiah Muralitharan.

And while we are on the subject of records, Kumble picked up all ten wickets against Pakistan in a Test match at Delhi, making him only the second man in history after Jim Laker of England to pick all ten wickets in an innings.

Kumble also has 337 ODI wickets and 1136 first class wickets, and the list just goes on and on.

But one record that Kumble will keep closest to his heart will be his first and only Test century that he scored at the Oval against England. It was a 17 year wait, and Kumble celebrated it in his own inimitable fashion.

Anil Kumble held the captaincy of India for a brief period in 2007 and 2008, but the period was an important one for Indian cricket. First he helped India beat the Pakistan at home, and then in a highly charged up encounter in Australia, he was able to keep the players tempers in check and the series ended up being a memorable one.

Anil Kumble remains one of the most respected cricketers to have played for India, and the people of Karnataka love and admire him to no end.

Bangalore has named a junction in the city after the great man, in admiration of one of their favourite sons.