Kumble stands out like Colossus

The most compelling performer in this year’s IPL is not Matt Hayden who has sent bowlers scurrying for cover with his big-hitting, not ‘Slinga’ Malinga whose inswinging yorkers would have compelled many batsmen to ask their kit suppliers for protecting their toes. No, not even Shane Warne whose flamboyance and chutzpah usually make him a winner even in defeat.

For my money, the hero of the tournament yet has been the hard working, understated, but hugely effective Anil Kumble. His heroics — as bowler and leader — have led Bangalore from the brink of another humiliating ouster to the semifinals of the tournament in great style.

In many ways, he is Twenty20 cricket’s hero-who-almost-wasn’t. When the league was formed last year, remember, Kumble perhaps more than anybody else was everybody’s idea of what a Twenty20 cricketer cannot be. He was 37, on the verge of retirement, thought to be temperamentally too staid for a game that required youth, inventiveness and high energy. And what role would spinners have in this format of the game anyway?

A little over a year down the road, he might be the strongest contender for Most Valuable Player (MVP). In the current tournament, Kumble has 17 wickets from 14 games. More importantly, his economy rate is measly — less than six runs per over. That makes him perhaps the best performing spinner — ahead of established stars like Muralitharan and Harbhajan Singh, or young tyros like Pragyan Ojha or Shadab Jakati.
It’s also been a tournament in which Kumble has upstaged not only his Indian peers like Tendulkar, Dravid, Ganguly, Sehwag and Harbhajan, but also established a more expansive legacy for younger players like Gambhir, Rohit Sharma, Dhoni, Irfan etc., to remember and emulate.

But Kumble’s most significant achievement has been as captain. He took over when Bangalore were tottering. The much-touted Kevin Pietersen could win only two games out of six before he flew back to England for the series against the West Indies, and Bangalore — who had finished seventh last year — looked doomed to a similar fate. With six wins from eight matches subsequently, however, Kumble not only transformed his own image as a Twenty20 cricketer, but also the fortunes of his team.

A side which looked disjointed and lacking in self-belief suddenly sprang to life. The vast talent pool was regimented into a battling, winning unit. The batting, bowling and fielding seemed to improve beyond recognition, and Bangalore’s subsequent progress became one of the big stories of the tournament, making you wonder whether the man at the helm can make such a vast difference.

As is evident from several examples, he does, never mind the theories that dogged the start of this tournament. Adam Gilchrist, for instance, has been able to instill new energy in the Hyderabad side, Dhoni’s man-management skills have earned plaudits from everyone in the Chennai team, and everybody acknowledges Warne’s Pied Piper role in Rajasthan’s performances over two seasons.

This year, though, has belonged to Kumble. He may lack Warne’s genius, flair and bluster; but he has perhaps greater resilience and doggedness. He may not have Dhoni’s youthful sense of adventure and his Midas touch; but he has as much ambition, backed by the wisdom of years spent in honest toil.

It’s been a remarkable effort. But why should that surprise us? Kumble is a remarkable man.