Line & Length
R Mohan
Smiling assassin is in the hot seat
November 11, 2007
At the bowling crease, he is known as the "Smiling Assassin." In the hot seat, that is a very funny appellation to carry, although there is no reason to suspect Anil Kumble would not bring into the job the kind of intensity he carried as a bowler who wheeled his arm over season after season without once complaining about the workload.
Kumble is Team India's captain only by default. Ironically, the job that is most sought after by Indian cricketers was turned down by Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar, the latter even having the temerity to suggest that, since he did not want the job, it should go to a young player. Now, the oldest cricketer gets a plum assignment in the twilight of his career.
Given the professional qualities that have served him so well over the years, the leg spinner will no doubt make a committed captain. His good temperament is described well in his title. The only fear is he could get very intense as he tends to when the fielders are not supporting him or the umpires are unkind in their avowed batsmen-oriented judgment.
Kumble's intensity is a throwback to his very early days in the game as a fast bowler. Strangely, two of the world's top three Test wicket takers started out as pace bowlers, with Muralitharan even trying to be a leg spinner before switching to his now famous off spin that is occasionally interspersed with the doosra. Kumble's anger is, however, so well hidden that he is better known as the rarest of rare gentlemen of the game.
In marked contrast to the way his fellow seniors viewed the job as a burden, it is with a willingness that Kumble accepted the job. The touching modesty with which he talks about his achievements in the game (566 wickets in Tests and 337 wickets in ODIs before he called it a day after the 2007 World Cup in the Caribbean) is also to be seen in his reaction to the appointment.
"Every cricketer dreams of becoming the captain. [For me] it has come at a time which some people might say is late, but from my point of view it's better late than never. It's a great motivation for me," he said, revealing why he is regarded as the thinking cricketer who is as adept at using the laptop as he is of training himself assiduously to cultivate a slower style of leg spin that has given a metronome the variety he needed to become great.
Whenever complicated mathematics was involved in net run rates or understanding and interpreting Duckworth-Lewis priori ties were called for, the first man Team India would turn to would be Kumble. He would have all the sums down, pat to a fraction, in a jiffy. No wonder he was the chief negotiator when it came to dealing with the players' financial contracts with BCCI.
Seething with frustration when he was made to feel unwanted in the squad at the 2003 World Cup in South Africa, Kumble bided his time. Just ahead of the showpiece event, he had shown enormous patience in coming through the major rotator cuff injury that bowlers suffer from most. He had warmed the benches often enough before the great chance came to him down under.
It is a measure of the determination of the man that he fought his way back to success and the status of the country's first choice Test spinner. The leap in his success rate on hard Australian wickets carried him towards Shane Warne and Murali. He would know the world Test bowling record is no more a viable ambition, but to get as far as he can while the shoulder holds up is a very practical approach that is typical of the Karnataka stalwart.
Kumble will be an intelligent Test captain who will be driven by common sense rather than great instinct. He may not be a great gambler in the Ganguly tradition; more the calculating type who will know how much to press on with which bowler in what situation. His tenure, how ever short it proves to be, will probably debunk the building myth about what a stress-laden job the Indian captaincy is.
The leg spinner surprised every one by grabbing the man of the match in his first outing in ODIs in England in 1990. Seventeen years and 1.33 lakh deliveries in all types of cricket later, he is still sending them down with the regularity of the minute hand in a Swiss watch. One thing is certain: the captaincy will not affect his bowling. He will still have a disarming smile for the batsman he has just hoodwinked.
If Dhoni, said to be the heir apparent of Indian cricket, follows Kumble's lead, he will probably end up as a better captain and an even tempered man manager who deals with all players with a proper sense of equity. Kumble is in the hot seat quite by accident. His record says he will leave it a cooler place.
Republished with permission from The Asian Age
Kumble is Team India's captain only by default. Ironically, the job that is most sought after by Indian cricketers was turned down by Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar, the latter even having the temerity to suggest that, since he did not want the job, it should go to a young player. Now, the oldest cricketer gets a plum assignment in the twilight of his career.
Given the professional qualities that have served him so well over the years, the leg spinner will no doubt make a committed captain. His good temperament is described well in his title. The only fear is he could get very intense as he tends to when the fielders are not supporting him or the umpires are unkind in their avowed batsmen-oriented judgment.
Kumble's intensity is a throwback to his very early days in the game as a fast bowler. Strangely, two of the world's top three Test wicket takers started out as pace bowlers, with Muralitharan even trying to be a leg spinner before switching to his now famous off spin that is occasionally interspersed with the doosra. Kumble's anger is, however, so well hidden that he is better known as the rarest of rare gentlemen of the game.
In marked contrast to the way his fellow seniors viewed the job as a burden, it is with a willingness that Kumble accepted the job. The touching modesty with which he talks about his achievements in the game (566 wickets in Tests and 337 wickets in ODIs before he called it a day after the 2007 World Cup in the Caribbean) is also to be seen in his reaction to the appointment.
"Every cricketer dreams of becoming the captain. [For me] it has come at a time which some people might say is late, but from my point of view it's better late than never. It's a great motivation for me," he said, revealing why he is regarded as the thinking cricketer who is as adept at using the laptop as he is of training himself assiduously to cultivate a slower style of leg spin that has given a metronome the variety he needed to become great.
Whenever complicated mathematics was involved in net run rates or understanding and interpreting Duckworth-Lewis priori ties were called for, the first man Team India would turn to would be Kumble. He would have all the sums down, pat to a fraction, in a jiffy. No wonder he was the chief negotiator when it came to dealing with the players' financial contracts with BCCI.
Seething with frustration when he was made to feel unwanted in the squad at the 2003 World Cup in South Africa, Kumble bided his time. Just ahead of the showpiece event, he had shown enormous patience in coming through the major rotator cuff injury that bowlers suffer from most. He had warmed the benches often enough before the great chance came to him down under.
It is a measure of the determination of the man that he fought his way back to success and the status of the country's first choice Test spinner. The leap in his success rate on hard Australian wickets carried him towards Shane Warne and Murali. He would know the world Test bowling record is no more a viable ambition, but to get as far as he can while the shoulder holds up is a very practical approach that is typical of the Karnataka stalwart.
Kumble will be an intelligent Test captain who will be driven by common sense rather than great instinct. He may not be a great gambler in the Ganguly tradition; more the calculating type who will know how much to press on with which bowler in what situation. His tenure, how ever short it proves to be, will probably debunk the building myth about what a stress-laden job the Indian captaincy is.
The leg spinner surprised every one by grabbing the man of the match in his first outing in ODIs in England in 1990. Seventeen years and 1.33 lakh deliveries in all types of cricket later, he is still sending them down with the regularity of the minute hand in a Swiss watch. One thing is certain: the captaincy will not affect his bowling. He will still have a disarming smile for the batsman he has just hoodwinked.
If Dhoni, said to be the heir apparent of Indian cricket, follows Kumble's lead, he will probably end up as a better captain and an even tempered man manager who deals with all players with a proper sense of equity. Kumble is in the hot seat quite by accident. His record says he will leave it a cooler place.
Republished with permission from The Asian Age
