The Indian cricket team has been blessed with some brilliant cricketers, over the years. From the likes of Nawab Pataudi, Kapil Dev and Sunil Gavaskar to Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and MS Dhoni, India have dominated world cricket with the help of instrumental performances from these legends of the game.
Anil Kumble is also regarded among the greatest of Indian cricket. He is the country’s leading wicket-taker in both Tests and ODIs and produced numerous match-winning performances for the side throughout his international career. Kumble, who made his India debut in 1990, finished with 619 wickets in Tests and 337 ODI scalps.
While lauding the former India captain, veteran spinner Harbhajan Singh named him as the greatest match-winner India has ever produced. Harbhajan, who spent quite a lot of time with Kumble in the Indian dressing room, praised Kumble for being a prolific wicket-taker despite not being a great turner of the cricket ball.
“In my view, Anil bhai was the greatest ever who played for India. He’s probably the greatest match-winner India has ever produced. People used to say he didn’t spin the ball, but he showed that if you had the heart, you could get batsmen out regardless of whether the ball spun or not,” Harbhajan told Sportstar.
Harbhajan and Kumble bowled in tandems for a large part of their respective careers and wreaked havoc on the opposition with their sublime skills. While Kumble is India’s leading wicket-taker of all-time in Tests, he is placed third on the overall list with only Muttiah Muralitharan and Shane Warne ahead of him.
“If anyone has half the competitiveness Anil bhai had, he would become a champion. I’m lucky to have played with him for so many years. He was an unbelievably committed player,” said Harbhajan.
