Anil Kumble paid tribute to retiring Adam Gilchrist, saying the record-breaking Australian would always be remembered for changing the role of wicketkeeper.
NEW DELHI: India captain Anil Kumble on Sunday paid tribute to retiring Adam Gilchrist, saying the record-breaking Australian would always be remembered for changing the role of wicketkeeper.
Gilchrist announced his retirement on Saturday, just a day after setting a Test record for most dismissals by a wicketkeeper, with 414 in 96 matches.
The wicketkeeper-batsman will quit Test cricket after the ongoing fourth and final match against India at the Adelaide Oval and one-day internationals after next month's triangular series at home, which also features Sri Lanka.
"He (Gilchrist) changed the way countries would look at wicketkeepers," Kumble wrote in his column.
"Once he started playing for Australia, he forced cricket boards across the globe to have a rethink on how they wanted their 'keepers to be. People only picked 'keepers who could bat really well."
Gilchrist, 36, is credited with redefining the role of wicketkeeper in Test cricket with his exciting stroke-play as a lower-order batsman and maintaining high standards behind the stumps.
"When you look around international cricket now, most of the top wicketkeepers are good bats," said Kumble.
"Some are brilliant even... (Sri Lankan) Kumar Sangakkara, (South African) Mark Boucher, (Indian) Mahendra Singh Dhoni... (New Zealander) Brendon McCullum is very decent too.
"That change will forever be Gilchrist's legacy to the game."
Calling the Australian "larger than life", Kumble added that whoever takes up the gloves next is going to be under "immense" pressure as Gilchrist would be "remarkably" tough to replace.
"Comparisons will be made straightaway and to match up to the Gilchrist phenomenon will not be easy," he said.
Brad Haddin is tipped to replace Gilchrist, who scored 5,556 Test runs with 17 centuries before the Adelaide match and 9,297 runs with 15 hundreds in 277 one-day internationals.
The Indian captain said news of Gilchrist's retirement came as a surprise to his team.
"I thought he had lots of cricket left in him and could have gone on for at least a year, till Australia came to India next winter. I had no inkling, none of us did, really," said leg-spinner Kumble.
"As a spinner, I look at Gilly a little differently. Any quality spinner needs to have a special understanding with the wicketkeeper.
"Theirs is a very crucial partnership, and it was that way with Gilchrist and (retired Australian leg-spinner) Shane Warne for really long. He's been brilliant behind the stumps.
"And that wasn't just it. What really worked for Australia was Gilchrist coming in at number seven and changing the complexion of a game single-handedly."
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