‘VVS, Rahul are unsung heroes’

Cricket’s senior-most statesman Anil Kumble speaks to Nihal Koshie about his cherished moments, on how he should have probably quit ODIs after the 2003 World Cup, his maiden Test ton and whether he will regret if not given Test captaincy

You have completed 17 years of international cricket…

It has been a satisfying journey. I never thought that I would play for so long when my career started off. I am really happy with the way things have gone about.

You have 10 wickets in an innings, a Test hundred at the Oval, 566 Test wickets; you are the highest wicket-taker in ODIs for India… What is your pick?

It is difficult to pick out one moment. I guess one thing is the first five-wicket haul I got in Test cricket in Jo’burg.

That really gave me the confidence that if I can do it once I can do it again. And then the 10-wickets in an innings is something I will always be remembered for.

I was probably destined to get it. Doing it against Pakistan was even more special. The Test hundred… I always thought that I would score a Test hundred at some point of time.

But I never though I would have to wait for 118 Tests. I would have regretted if I didn’t get it. People who had seen me at under-19 level knew that I could get runs.

You had announced that you would retire after the Caribbean World Cup. India had a torrid time. Do you think, looking back, you should have called it quits earlier?

Things had not changed for me between 2003 and 2007. By that I mean the way I was looked at as a bowler in the one-day format of the game.

So, yeah maybe I should have quit ODIs after the 2003 World Cup. If you look at it we had the same kind of team in 2007 that we had in 2003.

But we lost momentum in the tournament after losing the first game. You like to go out on a high, but it always doesn’t work your way.

I don’t regret quitting when I did.

Looking back on your ODI career, do you wish that you could have played a lot more games for India?

I got close to 280 matches and that is not a bad number to end your career on. I missed out on a couple of one-dayers that I thought I should have played. But it doesn’t really bother me now.

You have been part of India’s great Test wins in the recent past…

Probably the Australia series in 2003 was special. It was great that we drew the series.

It would have been better if we had a series victory. The Pakistan Test series win in 2004 was special. It was the first time I played in Pakistan.

Not having a World Cup win is something missing but at least the team came close to that in 2003.

Would you have enjoyed playing T20?

Bowling only four over in a match is great fun… I think India’s win in South Africa was very important as we had gone 25 years without a World Cup trophy.

But moving ahead we need to be very careful of how much of this format we play. All three versions of the game need to be independent of each other.

What do you make of all the talk revolving Brave Young India?

There seems to be a lot of new found aggression on the field, but the bottom-line is we lost 2-4 to Australia.

People are getting confused. There is a difference between what we show and what we actually do.

Aggression doesn’t mean you have to show off on the field or abuse or talk a lot or make gestures. At the end of the day you need to play good cricket to win a match.

You have to channel all your energies into your cricket playing ability. Otherwise it will get very difficult to win. You need to draw a line and shouldn’t cross it. And it is not that we took things lying down before.

There seem to be many heroes sprouting up in Indian cricket, especially after the T20 win. Looking back would you say Rahul Dravid is largely unsung?

There are unsung heroes in Indian cricket. Rahul is one for sure and then there is VVS Laxman.

For me the most important yardstick is how many matches a team has won. All the records a player has and the thousands of runs are fine.

But what one achieves personally must match up with the number of matches India has won.

You can calculate that and see who is who. I don’t need to spell it out.

What about your captaincy aspirations? You said that it would be an honour.

Well, it is something not in my hands. If I didn’t get a Test hundred, I would have regretted it.

But getting picked or not picked or not being a regular member of the ODI squad are things I don’t have control over.

Having the ball in hand and not winning a game for India is something I would regret. If people think I am capable of leading a side it is fine.

But if they think I am not, I won’t worry about it. I know that I am capable every time I walk onto the field.

There must have been a lot of sacrifices in your career.

Not many people get the opportunity to represent the country. Along the way I have had to make many sacrifices.

Staying away from the family is not easy, my wife my kids, my parents who supported me early in life, my brother.

But at the end of the day, whatever sacrifices one has made when you look at what one has achieved it is very satisfying.