Kumble quits ODI cricket, available for Tests
Mar 30, 2007 - 7:23:17 PM
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'I would have relished the responsibility of being an Indian captain. I know the job of an Indian captain is very hard. I got a lot of support from my first captain Mohammed Azharuddin,' Kumble said.
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By IANS,
[RxPG] Bangalore, March 30 - After spinning India to many victories, Anil Kumble, the country's most successful One-day International bowler with 337 wickets, quit this version of the game Friday but said his next target would be to reach 600 wickets in Test matches.
Kumble, 36, took his 337 scalps in 271 matches. He has taken 547 wickets in 113 Tests so far.
His retirement follows India's abysmal performance in the ongoing World Cup in the West Indies.
'I am still available for Test cricket. I still have some cricket left in me. I will see whether I can achieve 600 wickets in Test cricket,' Kumble said at a press conference at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, two days after he returned home with the team.
'I always wanted to be a part of the team right from the time when I started playing. It became a habit and I always wanted to have the ball in my hand. Things didn't go right in the last World Cup.'
Kumble, who also represented Leicestershire, Northamptonshire and Surrey in the county competitions, played only one match in the West Indies, against Bermuda, and took three wickets.
Kumble had made up his mind to retire from ODI cricket after the World Cup, irrespective of India's performance, though he had first mulled about retirement a few years ago.
'I did think of retirement four years back,' he disclosed Friday.
'But this World Cup was special. So I thought this was the time to give the youngsters a chance.'
Kumble is only the second bowler to take all 10 wickets in a Test innings. He achieved that world record in Pakistan's second innings at Delhi's Ferozeshah Kotla in February 1999 to spin India to a grand victory.
In doing so, Kumble emulated England's Jim Laker, who performed the feat against Australia at Old Trafford, Manchester, in 1956.
Kumble, who began playing cricket as a medium pacer, switched to leg-spin on insistence from his elder brother.
But shoulder and other injuries ensured that he missed many matches, or his wicket tally would have been bigger.
Since making his Test debut against England at Manchester in 1990, Kumble has won many matches for India.
He rose to become vice-captain of the Indian team. But captaincy eluded him due to injuries and uncertainty about his place in the ODI team at certain stages of his career.
'I would have relished the responsibility of being an Indian captain. I know the job of an Indian captain is very hard. I got a lot of support from my first captain Mohammed Azharuddin,' Kumble said.
'I got good support from my friends, family and my wife.'
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